


The Wolf and the Thief

by gallifreyslostson



Series: Written in the Stars [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-27
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-10 05:17:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 70
Words: 210,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1155548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gallifreyslostson/pseuds/gallifreyslostson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose is trapped in a universe that is trying erase her. With the help of a very special friend, she gets the opportunity to go back and rewrite her entire history with the Doctor in order to keep the tragic events at Canary Wharf from happening. Can she succeed? Or is she doomed to fade away?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Visitor

Rose Tyler waited patiently for her father to notice her.  The fact that he had been in the middle of what had promised to be a long debriefing when he’d suddenly forgotten about her was a matter for concern, but lately, she’d been getting used to it.

As near as she could figure, it had begun sometime shortly after she’d said goodbye to the Doctor, on the worst day of her life.  It had taken far longer for her to realize what was actually happening.  She still had moments of uncertainty when she questioned whether the whole world was going mad around her, or if it was just her.

She was…fading.  That was the best way she could describe it.  It had started in small ways, people not noticing she’d entered a room, or leaving her out of conversations.  She’d started to notice there was something odd going on when the security issues had started.  Her badge to get into Torchwood had become…unreliable.  Twice is coincidence, but three times… The third time she’d asked to be buzzed in, she had been horrified when the secretary first claimed there was no Rose Tyler in employee records.  The girl had been quick to correct herself, but the damage had already been done.  Since then, things had happened with greater frequency and severity.  Rose had gotten used to phone conversations being cut off after a slight confused pause on the other end, people walking into her in hallways without apology, and leaving meetings while she was midsentence with puzzled looks on their faces.  Now, years later, she often had to resort to throwing things to even try to carry on a half-way lucid conversation.

She had checked the archives to see if there was any hint of contact with hostile life forms that could have caused this but had found none.  She had tried getting physicals, but her appointments kept getting cancelled, and then her file had been tossed completely.  She’d stopped trying after that.  After all, it wasn’t a physical thing, from what she could tell.  She still felt fine…physically.  And as far as she was able to tell, she was still corporeal, she could still interact.  There was just something that kept other people from keeping her in their minds.  The nearest she could liken it to was the perception filter on the TARDIS, the way people just sort of looked away if they weren’t supposed to see it.

“Rose?”  She pulled herself out of her thoughts at the sound of her father’s voice.  She looked up to see him holding up a yellow post it note that had “Rose Tyler is your daughter!” written on it in his untidy scrawl.  “It happened again, didn’t it?”

“Yeah,” she said with a shrug.  “It’s alright.  Not your fault.”

Pete sighed.  “I just wish we could figure it out.  Um…what…what’re you…what were we talking about?”

“Debriefing on the Clargon incident,” she supplied promptly.  “I think we covered the major points, though.”

Pete glanced down at the file on his desk.  “Right…right.  All sorted, then?”

“Of course, Director,” Rose replied with a cheeky grin.  “We done, then?  I’d like to head home and get some sleep.”

“Yeah, of course,” Pete said, rising quickly and giving her a tight hug.  “Good night, Rose.  We’ll work on it more tomorrow.”

“Night, Dad,” she said, a little sadly.  They wouldn’t work on it tomorrow.  The times that he could keep her in his mind long enough to even try were getting fewer and further between.

She drove home and entered her flat, grateful once again that she lived alone.  No one to forget her without anyone to remember.

She toed off her trainers and flopped onto her sofa.  As usual, when she was alone, her thoughts turned to the Doctor.  She wondered what he would do, if he was here.  Would he know what was happening?  Would he be able to fix it?  Or would he forget her too?  The idea that he could forget her, everything that they’d been through, from the Nestene to the supernova, made her nauseous.

“Don’t forget me, Doctor,” she whispered, and tears began to spill down her cheeks.

Before she could really indulge in a proper cry, she was blinded by a sudden burst of golden light filling the flat.  She threw an arm over her face, and reached quickly for her gun, pointing it at the source of the strange singing that had accompanied the light.  As suddenly as it came, though, it was gone.  She slowly lowered her arm and stared at the figure in front of her.  Her jaw dropped.

“Finally,” the figure said.  “Do you have _any_ idea how hard it was to find you?”

Rose simply continued to stare blankly at…herself.

“Okay, yeah, I know this is a bit of a…shock,” the girl said, eyeing her warily and raising her hands.  “I’ll explain everything, I swear…but do you think you could lower the gun?  I’m not entirely sure what it will do to me, but I’m not exactly anxious to find out either.”

Rose lowered the gun and closed her mouth.  The…other her visibly relaxed as Rose’s mind scrambled.  The girl was her, even down to the outfit she was wearing at the moment.    Alternate universe?  No.  Travel between worlds was impossible.  True, the Doctor had said that before, but she was reasonably sure that if he’d been able to, he would have come back for her properly.  Future version?  Possible.  A bit unlikely, but that pretty much summed up her life.  Product of a complete mental breakdown?  Probably.

“No, you haven’t gone round the bend,” the other girl said after a moment.  “It’s a bit…complicated.”

“Uncomplicate it,” Rose ordered.

“Ah…right,” the other girl said.  “Well…I’m not any of the other things you were thinking either.  I’m not you…any version of you.  I just look like you.”  Rose looked pointedly down at herself and then back up to the copy of her, who looked sheepish.  “Okay, a lot like you.”

“What are you?”

“I’m…okay, seriously, don’t freak out or anything, alright?”  The girl was watching her warily again, like one would a scared and dangerous animal.  “I’m…I’m the TARDIS.”

“The TARDIS,” Rose repeated flatly.

“Yes, the TARDIS,” the other girl said happily, apparently believing that Rose had accepted this bit of knowledge with less fight than she’d been expecting.  “And you’re my Wolf!”

The happy smile dropped off the girl’s face when Rose stood swiftly and raised the gun again.  “Tell me what you are,” Rose said darkly, “or we _will_ be finding out what this can do to you.”

“I’m the TARDIS, I promise you,” the girl pleaded.  “You’re my Wolf, the one who saved my Thief.  The one and only in all the universes.  You looked into me, and I looked into you, and we saved the universe.”

Rose stared at her, tears burning in her eyes.  The gun began shaking, and the other girl stepped toward her slowly and gently pulled it from her hand.

“Oh, my Wolf,” she said sadly, and pulled Rose into her arms.  Despite the surreal circumstances, as soon as the other girl touched her, Rose believed everything she said.  She could suddenly feel the presence in the back of her mind that she hadn’t known was there until it was gone.  Whatever strength she’d built over the last few years instantly disintegrated, and she sobbed into the arms of the TARDIS.

The TARDIS pulled her over to the sofa and held her as she sobbed.  Time was of essence, but this was equally vital.  Her Wolf had been wounded deeply and had never healed, never had the chance.  The TARDIS rocked her gently, singing gently into her mind a soothing melody.

Eventually, the tears slowed, but Rose still clung to the girl for a moment.  She hadn’t cried like that since the day on the beach, when she’d felt like her heart was shattering inside of her.  Those tears had not had the cathartic effect this one had, however.  Rose felt calmer and more at peace now than she had in years.

“The Doctor,” she said quietly.

“My Thief is in pain,” the TARDIS said softly.  “His loss runs so deep now, and he is drowning in it.  He needs his Wolf more than ever.  More even than he knows.”

Rose sat up straight finally and tried to digest this.  What could she do?  She was trapped in a separate _universe_ from him.  Hang on…

“Okay, let’s assume that I believe that you are who you say you are and that I haven’t completely cracked up,” Rose said slowly.  “I have a couple questions to get out of the way before you try to tell me anything else.”

The TARDIS sat up straight and looked at her expectantly.  Rose hesitated.  _This is just bizarre_ , she thought.

“Okay, so I know he didn’t exactly procure you…legitimately,” Rose said and smiled a little when the TARDIS rolled her eyes, “so he’s your thief.  Why am I your wolf?”

“You are the Bad Wolf,” the TARDIS replied promptly.  “You create yourself.”  Rose stared at her.  The TARDIS made an irritated noise.  “Here, let me.”  She lifted her hands suddenly and placed her hands on either sides of Rose’s head.  Before Rose had a chance to stop her, she gasped as she relived the last moments in the GameStation.  She had never been able to remember it properly, but now she could see herself and the full scope of what she’d done when she’d taken the Time Vortex inside herself.  Rose opened her eyes to see the glow fading from the TARDIS’ eyes.

“Guess he’s not the only impressive one,” she said softly, in awe of her own memories.  The TARDIS smiled at her.  “Okay, question two…how did you get here?  Travel between worlds—“

“—is impossible,” the TARDIS finished, rolling her eyes again.  “Yes, he does like to repeat himself.    And you like to ask difficult questions.  But he’s right…except for when he’s wrong.”  She bit her lip as she waved her hands vaguely.  “I’m not…strictly matter.  I have form and I’m made of…stuff…but even just standing still as a ship, I exist in more than one dimension.  Hence the whole bigger on the inside thing.  The TARDIS matrix exists on a whole…other level.  That’s how I can travel the way I do as well as form psychic links with those who travel with my Doctor.  With me so far?”  At Rose’s nod, she continued.  “Right now…he is very angry at me.  He has no power and he doesn’t know why.  He’s safe, but he’s stranded.  It takes a lot of power to travel the way I have.  I even had to jettison a few extra rooms.  He’s going to be very upset when he finds out that the pear shooting range is gone.”  Rose giggled at the TARDIS’ sheepish look.  “I routed all the power to myself to send my essence to other universes in order to find you.”  The TARDIS looked at her sharply.  “Were you aware that you only exist in one universe?”

Rose arched an eyebrow.  “Well, yeah, I mean, I can’t exactly hop from one to the other.  And any other version of me…wouldn’t be…me…”

“Well, yes,” the TARDIS agreed.  “But that’s just it:  There is no _other_ version of you.  You, Rose Tyler, the Bad Wolf, are the only one ever.  Oh, there’s other universes where Pete and Jackie still got together, and in some of them they have children, but none of them are you.  You are a singular specimen.  Just like the Doctor.”

Rose stared at her with her mouth open.  “And what does that mean?”

“No idea,” the TARDIS said evasively, then added:  “Still, good to know,” in a bright voice.  This tactic reminded Rose strongly of the Doctor, and her eyes narrowed.  “But now,” the TARDIS continued, sobering, “we’re running out of time.  My Thief is losing control, and you, my Wolf, are dying.  You need to save each other again.”

“Dying?”

“You are aware that you are…fading, you call it,” the TARDIS said after a moment’s hesitation.  Rose nodded mutely.  “Yes, you’ve heard before that no one is truly dead while there are those that remember them?  Well, it works the other way too.  When everyone forgets you, you will no longer exist anywhere.”

Rose took a deep breath.  It was good to have some confirmation of recent events to assure her that she wasn’t going mad, but she was not prepared for the severity of the situation.  “But…why?”

“You only exist in one universe,” the TARDIS said gently.  “That’s the only one you are supposed to exist in…the one with the Doctor.  This universe is trying to correct a mistake.  It’s phasing you out.”

That…wasn’t good.  “How do I stop it?”

“You can’t,” the TARDIS said.  “Not like this, anyway.  The only way to correct it is to keep it from happening, and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but it’s going to take a while.”  Rose looked at her blankly.  “The only way to reliably change the timeline is to take you back to the beginning, your first adventure with us.”

“Run,” Rose whispered.  The TARDIS nodded.

“I can send your consciousness, who you are now, back to that moment.  Well, more specifically, your first moment in me.” the TARDIS told her.  “But you have to understand that this is…risky.  If things go wrong…”

Rose shuddered, remembering the Reapers.  She knew first-hand how dangerous trying to rewrite time could be.  “And if they go right?  What will happen to my family?”

“If all goes well, this universe will simply compensate around changed events.  Jackie can still have Pete, they can still have Tony, and you will be on the other side with the Doctor.”  She paused, appearing to weigh her options.  “There’s one other thing that might be worth knowing.”

“Just one?”

“When you took in the Time Vortex,” she said slowly, “you altered yourself in ways the Doctor could not change, even with his sacrifice.”

“What’s that mean?”

The TARDIS took a deep breath.  “It means...if you don’t lose each other at Canary Wharf, you don’t have to lose each other at all.  You will live as long as he does.  He doesn’t have to go on without you.”  She smiled when Rose’s jaw dropped.  “Keep that in mind when you are forging a new relationship with him.  Don’t push him too hard, or he’ll push you away, but try to get him to open up to you more.  It will do him a world of good.  But you can’t let him know that you are more than human,” she added fiercely, clasping Rose’s hands.  “Not until after Torchwood.  If he knew that he could spend his life with you, and then lost you…I don’t know if he’d survive.”

“What about…what about the others?”  The TARDIS looked at her quizzically.  “All the people that died on our adventures?  Can…will I be able to save them?”

“Some,” the TARDIS said, her face softening.  “Not everyone.  Some are fixed points in time.  Some you simply won’t be able to save.  Don’t let it discourage you.”

Rose chewed her lower lip as she tried to take in everything the TARDIS was telling her.  “Can I have a minute?”

“Of course,” the TARDIS said, standing up.  “I’ll just…um…” she waved vaguely toward the back of the flat, then headed that direction.

Rose considered her options.  Everything about this sounded insane.  Going back in mind only to the moment she met the Doctor.  Living through all their adventures again to somehow keep the events of Canary Wharf from occurring.  Saving lives that had been lost the first time around.  Staying with the Doctor forever…

Or staying here, lonely and broken, only to eventually blink out of existence as everyone completely forgot her.  Wasn’t much of a choice at all, really…

_I am the Bad Wolf_ … _I create myself._

She found the TARDIS in her bedroom, looking at her collection of photographs.  She stopped when the other girl turned to her.

“So, my Wolf,” the TARDIS said, “are you ready to run?”


	2. Rose

_“So, my Wolf,” the TARDIS said, “are you ready to run?”_

Rose took a deep breath and nodded.  The TARDIS stood in front of her and gently placed her hands on Rose’s temples again.  She began to glow gold…

Rose stumbled and grabbed onto a rail for support.  She shook her head a little to clear it and looked around…at the inside of the TARDIS.  She felt a reassuring hum in the back of her mind. 

She silently gazed at the home she had loved and thought she’d lost.  She covered her mouth as a sob threatened to choke her while she took in the coral struts, the grating under her feet, the glow of the time rotor, the blue wooden doors that seemed so out of place from the inside.

"Don't worry, it won’t follow us," said a voice in a northern accent.  "The assembled hoard of Genghis Khan couldn't get through those doors, and believe me, they've tried."  She turned and saw him, her precious Doctor, back to leather and big ears, attaching Mickey’s plastic head to the console.  "You see, the arm is too simple, but the head's perfect. I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source." He ran around the console some more before coming to a quick stop.  "Right," he said suddenly, turning to face her. "Where do you want to start?"

“This all you got?”  She smiled teasingly at him.

“Oi,” he cried indignantly.  “I’ll have you know this is very impressive.”

“It is,” she agreed with a laugh.  “Especially the bit where you fit the outside around the inside.”  She looked around again, not having to feign her awe of the enormous console room and vaulted ceilings.  “Is it alien?”  He nodded.  “Are you?”

“Yes,” he said, after a moment.  “That alright?”

“Yeah,” she said happily.  “It’s fantastic!”

"It's called the TARDIS, this thing,” he informed her after a confused pause.   “T-A-R-D-I-S, that's Time And Relative Dimension In Space."  She finally let out the sob that was threatening to choke her.  “Culture shock,” he assured her, misunderstanding her reaction.  “Happens to the best of us.”

She shook her head, slowly.  “Just never thought I’d see something like this.”  _Again,_ she added silently.  She stared at him for a moment, then, unable to stop herself, she threw her arms around his waist in a quick hug.  “It’s amazing.”  She pulled away quickly, realizing this was probably a bit too much, too soon, and stifled a laugh at his stunned expression.

She looked around again with a mad grin as the Doctor continued to stare at her, until a bubbling sound caught her attention.  The head he’d attached to the console was bubbling and leaking some sort of fluid. "Ah, Doctor, Mickey's melting," she told him.

"What?" He stopped staring and glanced over.   "Oh, no, no, no, no, NO!" he cried, rushing over to it. He ran frantically around the console, pressing buttons and pulling levers.

Rose felt tears threaten again as she watched.  She loved her Doctor with big hair and pin stripes, but she had fallen for this man, her first Doctor…she couldn’t believe how much she’d missed him.

"The signal's fading!" he cried. "Wait…I've got it…No, no, no, no, no, no!" The TARDIS began to shake and Rose grabbed onto a rail with a grin. "Almost there! Almost there! Here we go!"

The TARDIS halted suddenly, and he bolted for the doors, Rose hot on his heels.

“I lost the signal!” he shouted, spinning on the spot.  “I got _so_ close!”

Rose looked around at the embankment as he spun some more on the spot.  God, she’d missed this…running full tilt into an adventure, fighting the good fight simply because they were there and could.

It occurred to her that she should probably be asking some questions in order to keep up the guise of innocent newcomer.

“So…that headless thing, it melted when the head did, yeah?”

"Yeah,” he replied without looking at her, voice hard.

“Any chance he's still alive?” she asked quietly.  “The real Mickey, I mean,” she added when she saw the blank look.

"Dunno,” he responded.  “Didn't think about that.”

“What, not at all?”

He spun on her.  “Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey—“

“Yeah, he's not a kid,” she interjected as her teenage mind rebelled.

“—it’s because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, alright?”

“’Alright’?” she shouted back.  God, she'd forgotten how easily he could frustrate her with one bloody word.

“Yes! It is!”

“We're not just stupid apes” she yelled at him.  “You arrogant, myopic Ti—Alien!”

He stopped and stared at her, baffled by her outburst.

She took a deep breath.  Wouldn't do to start a huge row this early.  She scrambled for something to ease the tension.  "If you're an alien, how comes you sound like you're from the North?" she asked, remembering one of her favorite exchanges.

"Lots of planets have a North," he responded on cue.  He still looked defensive, though.  She glanced at the TARDIS.  "And the Police Public Call Box?  What's that?"

“It’s a telephone box from the 1950s,” he said happily.  “It's a disguise,” he added, stroking the box fondly.

"Right," she said with a small giggle.  The Doctor and his TARDIS...there was a relationship Freud would've had a field day with.  "So, this living plastic.  What's it doing here?  What's it want?"

"You've got such a good planet,” he told her.  “Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air…perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs.  It's food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth…dinner!"

“Any way of stopping it?”

Grinning, the Doctor produces a tube of blue liquid from his jacket.  "Anti-plastic!"

"Anti-plastic…"

"Anti-plastic! But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?"

“We talking about a transmitter?  To broadcast the…the thought control," she added when he shot her an odd look.

"Yeah.  The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."  He paced around, looking for something that Rose knew was too obvious for him to see outright.

"So, like a dish sort of thing?" she asked slowly.

"Something like that, yeah," he said.  "Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London.  A huge circular metal structure…"

Rose glanced up at the London Eye.

"…Like a wheel.  Close to where we're standing.  Must be completely invisible," he added, stumped.  "He turned to face her, then followed her gaze over his shoulder.  "What?"  Rose nodded at the Eye.  He glanced over again, still not seeing it.  "What?"

"Seriously?"

He turned again.  "What?  What is it?"  Then she saw it click.  "Oh!"  He turned back to the Eye, studying it for a second, then whipped around to her again.  "Fantastic!"

He flashed a bright grin, the one that always softened him and made him look so much younger, and ran off.  Rose chased after him, and smiled when he grabbed her hand.

"Think of it," the Doctor said as they stopped beneath the giant wheel.  "Plastic, all over the world. Every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables—“

"The breast implants," Rose added.

He shot her another look.  "Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath."

She was investigating before he even finished talking, and found the manhole they had climbed down before with ease.  "What about down here?" she called back.

The Doctor joined her and studied the manhole.  "Looks good to me."

They ran to the cover and the Doctor heaved it out of place.  There was an eerie red light and smoke pouring out of it.  They scrambled down the ladder and into the next room, where they found a large vat of some kind of orange, bubbling goop.

"The Nestene Consciousness," the Doctor murmured.  "That's it, inside the vat. A living, plastic creature."

"Well, then," Rose said quickly.  "Tip in your anti-plastic and let's go."

"I'm not here to kill it," he replied hurriedly.  "I've got to give it a chance."

Rose watched sadly as he hurried down the steps.  That was the Doctor.  He always gave everyone a chance, and then crucified himself when they didn't take it.  She shook her head and hurried after him.

"I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness," he called over the railing, "under peaceful contract, according to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation."  The orange mass bubbled and shook a bit.  "Thank you. That I might have permission to approach."

Rose glanced around quickly, and found Mickey huddled in a corner.  "Mickey," she spoke to him urgently, crouching next to him.  "Mickey, it's okay.  It's alright!"

"That thing down there, the liquid, " Mickey stammered, "Rose - it can talk!"

"Yeah, it's all a bit...complicated," she said quickly.  "But it's okay, you're alive.  It's gonna be alright."

"Yeah, that was always a possibility," the Doctor told them.  "Keep him alive to maintain the copy."

Rose rolled her eyes.  "Yeah, thanks for being so upfront and informative all the time."

"Can we keep the domestics outside, thank you?"

"Prat," Rose muttered under her breath as she helped Mickey to his feet.

"Am I addressing the Consciousness?" the Doctor was saying.  "Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warped shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?"  Rose hid a smile.  The orange mass bubbled and shook.  "Oh don't give me that, it's an invasion! Plain and simple! Don't talk about constitutional rights!"  The plastic reared up angrily.  "I. Am. _Talking_! This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf - please, just go." 

Rose was wrapped up in his speech and forgot what came next.  She saw the dummies out of the corner of her eye and called out a warning, but it was too late.  They got hold of each of his arms, and one reached inside his jacket and found the vial of anti-plastic.

"That was just insurance!" he yelled.  "I wasn't going to USE it."  The plastic moved about restlessly.  "I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not…what do you mean?"  Rose glanced up to see the TARDIS revealed.  _Oh, no…no no no no..._

"Oh, oh no - honestly, no! Yes, that's my ship," he agreed, but was cut off from saying anymore when the plastic roared at him.  "That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war," he cried, his voice breaking.  Rose's heart broke for him, remembering how close this one had been to those experiences, how wounded he still was.  "It wasn't my fault! I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!"

The orange plastic bubbled and slurped angrily, seeming to grow and reach for them.

"What's it doing?"  Rose yelled.

"It's the TARDIS!" he yelled back.  "The Nestene has identified its superior technology - it's terrified! It's going to the final phase. It's starting the invasion! Get out, Rose! Just leg it! Now!"

Rose thought furiously.  They had tried to do what he said before, and it hadn't worked.  She'd wasted precious moments being a coward, and people had died in the streets.  There was no way she was going to let that happen this time.  She shushed the whimpering Mickey, and scanned the chamber until she found the axe.

"It's transmitting!"  the Doctor was shouting.

"I've had my A-levels," she muttered as she picked up the axe.  "I had a job.  I had a future.  All gone now…or never existed."  She hacked at the chain.  "But thanks to Jericho Street Junior School under 7s gymnastic team…I've still got the bronze!"

She grabbed onto the chain as it came loose and, after a deep breath, jumped across the cavern.  She kicked at the dummies, knocking them away from the Doctor and sending them flailing into the vat, along with the vial of anti-plastic.  She smiled up at the Doctor as he caught her.

"Hello," she said happily.

"Hello," he said, grinning almost in spite of himself.  They both glanced down.  "Now we're in trouble," he said darkly.  He spun around and grabbed her hand, sprinting for the TARDIS.

"Mickey, c'mon!"  Rose shouted him, grabbing onto his arm with her other hand.

The fled to the TARDIS as bangs echoed around the chamber, sparks flying.  Rose took a last look at the Nestene consciousness as she reached the TARDIS doors.  She grinned before slipping inside.

oOoOo

The Doctor watched Rose carefully as he worked the controls to take the TARDIS out of the burning cavern.  Something had changed about the girl after she'd stepped into the TARDIS.  Before, she'd certainly had guts to spare, the way she'd pestered him with questions about who he was and what was happening.  But she was still just a girl, focused on the minutiae of the situation and how it related to her and her understandably tiny world view.

But then, once she'd gotten in the TARDIS, her whole demeanor had changed.  Suddenly, everything had become background, and she'd been focused on the task at hand.  Even the argument about Mickey the idiot had been short lived.  She hadn't panicked when his attempt at diplomacy fell apart, she'd simply taken matters into her own hands and saved them all, without a thought for herself or anything else.

Who was this girl?

Of one thing he was absolutely sure: Rose Tyler, whoever or whatever she was, was fantastic.  For the first time since the war, he actually found himself actually wanting someone around in the TARDIS.

oOoOo

Rose pulled out her phone as she stepped slowly from the TARDIS.

"Mum?  Mum you alright?"

"Oh, Rose, the strangest thing," her mother told her.  "I was in the shopping center, and all these dummies came to life, crashing through all these windows, and then just fell down twitching.  They're saying it was some kind of massive student prank gone awry."  She sounded a little breathless, but none the worse for wear, considering what could have been.  “Oh, and I’ll tell you what, sweetheart, you  _can_ get compensation.  I said so.  I've got this document thing off the police—“

Rose grinned and hung up the phone.  No guns, then.  No hysteria in the streets.  No violence.   Well, apart from some property damage.  Rose Tyler, 1—established events, zip.

She made her way over to where Mickey was cowering behind a wooden pallet.  "Fat lot of good you were," she said to the whimpering boy, who was far cry from the man she’d last known in the parallel world.  God, had he ever really been that _young_?

"Nestene Consciousness?  Easy," she heard the Doctor say with a snap of his fingers.  She looked up at him and smiled.

"You were useless in there," she teased, turning to him.  "You'd be dead if it wasn't for me."  The first time she'd saved him.  And soon, he'd save her.

"Yes, I would," he said quietly, looking away.  "Thank you.  Right then," he said cheerfully, “I'll be off.  Unless…I don't know…you could…come with me?"  He looked up at her, and she saw sincerity and a touch of vulnerability in his eyes.

"I—“ She hesitated as she felt a warning tingle in the back of her mind. 

"This box isn't just a London hopper, you know," he continued quickly, sensing her uncertainty. "It goes anywhere in the universe free of charge."

"Don't!" Mickey warned.  "He's an alien! He's a thing!"

"He's NOT invited," the Doctor added quickly, cutting a look at Mickey before turning back to her.  "What do you think? You could stay here and fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go…uh...anywhere."

He had asked twice.  He had said he never asked anyone twice.  But he had asked her.  Maybe he needed to.  This was where the healing started, she realized.  When he was able to admit to himself that he needed someone, long enough to come back for her.

She glanced down as Mickey put his arms around her legs like a kid.  She bit her lip, and took a chance.

"Yeah, I…I can't," she stammered.  "I've um…gotta go and find my mum and um…someone's gotta look after this stupid lump," she added, patting Mickey on the back.

"Okay," the Doctor said quickly, not quite able to cover up the pain of her rejection.  "See you around."

He held her gaze for a long moment, then swallowed hard and backed into the TARDIS.  Her eyes burned as it dematerialized.  _C'mon, Doctor_ , she thought furiously.  _Don't let me down now._

She turned to Mickey, and knelt next to him.

"Mickey, I've only got a second, so I need you to listen, right?"  He looked at her, still fearful.  "I love you, Mickey, and I always will, but you and me, it's not going to happen.  Not anymore.  Not ever.  It can't.  But I promise you, I promise you, that I'll be back, and we're going to do amazing things, you, and me, and the Doctor.  Just you wait."  She heard the groan of the TARDIS behind her and smiled.  "Oh, and when mom asks...tell her I'll be back in a year."

"What?” he asked.  “A _year_?  But…where're you going?"

The TARDIS doors opened, and the Doctor popped his head out.  "By the way," he said cheerfully, "did I mention that it also travels in time?"  He smiled at her and popped back inside, leaving the door open.

She grinned and gave Mickey a quick kiss on the forehead.  "Thanks," she said softly before turning away.

"For what?" Mickey asked, staring after her.

"Call it an advance," she called over her shoulder, and ran home.


	3. A Human Moment

“Right then,” the Doctor said as she ran up the ramp to the console.  “Rose Tyler, you tell me—where do you want to go first?”

She glanced around for a moment.  “Would you mind, maybe…could I have a human moment before we go swanning off?”

“Course you can,” he said, straightening.  “Pick any room you like, that corridor there,” he said, pointing.  “If you don’t find one you like, close your eyes, think of your happiest place, and—“ he hesitated, eyes clouding over for a moment.  No doubt thinking of happy places that no longer existed.  “Well, you’ll see,” he finished lamely.  She watched him for a moment, then he rolled his eyes and shoved her shoulder lightly.  “Go on, off you trot.  Sooner you get the human moment over, sooner we get to leave.”

She beamed at him over her shoulder and jogged down the corridor.  She knew from experience that it didn’t really matter which room she chose.  She also knew from experience that she hadn’t actually asked for one until after they witnessed the end of the world.  She was surprised how easily he had given in to her request for a “human moment,” a term she’d picked up from him in a different life.

She glanced at the doors lining the hall, and was shocked to find one with a rose etched into it.  She walked over to it slowly, brushing her fingers over the carving.  There was a hum in the back of her mind.

“Thanks, old girl,” she whispered.  “Best welcome home gift I could ask for.”

She opened the door and gasped.  It wasn’t her old room, not quite.  Bits of it were still here, in the cluttered book case, the beautiful wardrobe, and the full length mirror she’d adored and stolen from the Wardrobe after Dickens.  But there were differences too, in the toned down colors, the bits of coral that matched the console room winding across the walls, the large corkboard and shelves waiting expectantly for the many pictures and souvenirs she would collect over the years that she always agonized over finding space for.  Everything, new and old, blended subtly into something brilliantly, beautifully her.

She swallowed hard against the tears brimming in her eyes.  “Thank you,” she whispered simply.

Her eye caught the mirror again, and she stepped over to it.  Time to face the music.

 “Oh my god,” she whispered, taking in her 19 year old reflection.  “I _am_ a chav…”

All the lean muscle born of running with the Doctor and years of Torchwood training were gone.  No, not gone, she corrected, never happened.  She was still had the soft curves she’d had as a teenager, the slight roundness her mum still referred to as “baby fat” even though she was far from a baby any longer.

She took a deep breath.  Okay.  So.  She was nineteen again.  Now that she had a moment, she poked around her own thoughts, and found that they were not quite what she’d thought they’d be.  She hadn’t just stepped in and taken over…part of her really was nineteen, beyond how she looked.  She didn’t feel as jaded or cynical…without having any clear way to explain it to herself, she knew that she still had some of the innocence she’d had before she’d ran with the Doctor, some of the naiveté that she had lost after years of fighting for Torchwood.  She smiled at the knowledge.   That would also explain her petulance in regards to Mickey earlier.  She giggled at the memory.

She turned to make her way back to the console room, and her stomach started doing flip flops.  For some reason, it suddenly hit her that she was actually here, in the TARDIS, with her precious Doctor steps away.  Right now, he was all big ears and leather and anger and pain, coming nearly straight from the Time War, all those wounds still fresh and close to the surface.  He had told her that she had fixed him, healed him, but part of her had always wished she could have more time with this version of him.

Now she was getting another chance with him.

She made a gleeful noise, one more appropriate for a twelve year old than any age she considered herself now.  She didn’t care.

The Doctor and Rose Tyler in the TARDIS.  Just as it should be.

oOoOo

The Doctor fiddled with the controls for a moment after Rose Tyler skipped down the corridor, then stopped and glanced in the direction she’d gone, leaning against the console as he brooded.  He knew it had only been a minute, maybe two, since she’d last seen him.  One of the advantages of a having a time machine…he had been able to run around the universe and argue with himself for months before he’d gone back to her.

It made no sense.  It had been years since he’d had a companion at all.  Decades.  He didn’t want one, didn’t need one.  He was better off on his own, going anywhere he pleased, no one to answer to—

Because there was no one left.

The emptiness was still excruciating.  It always would be.  At first, he’d barely been able to function, so completely was he distracted by the _lack_ of noise…except when the screams echoed through his dreams.

But that was just it.  Why he’d been alone so long.  He deserved this isolation, this solitary suffering.  That was the price he paid for being the one to survive.  His punishment for the murder of his own species and countless others.

But then there was this tiny blonde human with absolutely zero experience of anything outside her tiny little city on a miniscule planet in some insignificant corner of the universe, and he didn’t want to be alone.  Something about her…something he couldn’t put his finger on…it almost seemed…familiar.  She drew him back from the furthest reaches of space to ask twice.

 _Him_.  He’d asked a human _twice._

He was just desperate, he realized.  He’d been alone too long.  He was making up things in his head, giving her more importance than she actually merited, because he just…needed someone.  Someone to…to be clever around.  Someone who didn’t know who he was, what he’d done, someone to distract him, to give him some space between himself and his pain, no matter how much he deserved to suffer.

It was alright.  Soon, she’d leave by one means or another.  He snorted at the thought; who was he kidding?  She’d run.  It wasn’t like before, when he’d simply been a man with a box and a renegade spirit, but still able to help, still the hero.  Now…he was so far gone that he didn’t even stand a chance at redemption.

This was temporary.  Just like everything else.

His eyes snapped up as the girl sauntered back into the console room.  “You done then?  Human moment over?”  She nodded and flashed him a bright grin, and he shook off his dark thoughts.  “Right then, let’s try this again: Rose Tyler, where do you wanna go first?  Backwards or forwards in time?  Your choice.”

“Forwards,” she replied firmly, stepping up to the console.

"How far?" he asked as he pressed a few buttons.

"Far as you like,” she told him happily.

 _Never gonna be far enough,_ he thought even as he danced around the console, her large hazel watching him with interest as, for a moment, he pretended he was something other than the monster he knew himself to be.

 


	4. The End of the World Part 1

“You done then?” he asked as she stepped back into the console room.  “Human moment over?”  She grinned and nodded.  “Right then, let’s try this again: Rose Tyler, where do you wanna go first?  Backwards or forwards in time?  Your choice.”

“Forwards,” she replied firmly, stepping up to the console.

"How far?" he asked as he pressed a few buttons.

"Far as you like,” she told him happily, knowing how much he enjoyed amazing her.

He started up the engines, spinning and flicking his way around the console.  The ship lurched to a stop, and he gave her a small smile.  "Ten thousand years in the future. Step outside, it's the year 12005, the New Roman Empire."

"You think you're so impressive," she teased, grinning at what she knew would become a long standing joke.  She also noted that they had skipped over the 22nd century.  Not that she minded; they hadn’t actually left the TARDIS for that one.

"I _am_ so impressive!"  She burst into laughter.  He stared at her for a moment, then got a calculating look on his face.  "Right then, you asked for it. I know exactly where to go. Hold on!"

The time rotor jumped, and the ship lurched, and she knew that they were hurtling through the vortex.  Then, suddenly, with a ping, they stopped, and the Doctor stood before her grinning proudly.

"Where are we?" she asked, genuinely excited.  Maybe this time she’d actually make it to the main event.  He gestured happily to the door.  She smiled at him. "What's out there?"  He merely gestured again, and she quickly made her way to the doors and out into the gallery.

The Doctor followed quickly, and strode to the other side of the room, using his sonic to open the shutters on the enormous windows.  She didn't have to feign the gasp when she looked down on the Earth.  No matter how many times she saw it, she knew it would never get old, seeing her world from this height in all its beauty and splendor.

"You lot," the doctor was telling her, “You spend all your time thinking about dying. Like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible. Maybe you survive. This is the year 5.5/apple/26. Five billion years in your future. This is the day…hold on…" He glanced down at his watch, and then back up to the window.  The sun suddenly bubbled out brightly, inching closer to the little blue and green planet.  "This is the day the sun expands," he continued quietly.  "Welcome to the end of the world."

"I'm not afraid of dying," she said softly.  He started, and turned his head to stare at her.  "That part's easy."

"What are you afraid of, then?" he asked her, studying her carefully.

"Leaving people behind," she replied, her voice still soft.  "Leaving them alone.  Forgotten by a universe that was too busy to notice.  No one deserves to be alone."  She saw a flash of pain cross his face.  She stared out again at the expanding sun, thinking of a beach in another universe, the agony she’d felt and seen mirrored in his eyes as he told her they could never see each other again.  "Worse than dying, that is.  Imagine being cut off from the one person who means more to you than anything, in the entire universe.  And then, if that's not bad enough, knowing that they're out there, just as alive as you, and in just as much pain, just as lonely, every minute of every day."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience," he murmured, trying to make sense of this girl.

Rose shook herself.  "Not likely," she said with a small laugh.  "Remember, chips and telly?  That's me.  Most experience I've had of life has been in the last few hours."  She glanced up at him, adding, "It just stands to reason, is all…sometimes, living is a lot harder than dying."

He gazed at her for another moment, then swallowed hard and nodded.

They studied the planet together in silence for a moment before a computerized voice interrupted their musings.

"Shuttles five and six now docking. Guests are reminded that Platform 1 forbids the use of weapons, teleportation and religion. Earth Death is scheduled for 15:39, followed by drinks in the Manchester Suite."

Together, they exited the observation deck and headed toward the main gallery.

"So, when it says 'guests'…that's not the kind of people I'd know, is it?"

"Not so much," he said with a smile.

"Right," she said slowly.  "And they're here…what, to just watch the world burn?"

"Yep," he said, giving her an odd sort of look.  Maybe she should try to play up the innocent girl a bit more, tone down the weary soldier.  "The great and the good are gathering to watch the planet die."

"What for?"

"Fun," he said as he led her into the Manchester Suite.  "Mind you," he added, "when I said the great and the good, what I mean is, the rich."

"Well, that never changes then, no matter what planet you’re from," she said darkly.  "It's always the rich and the bored who develop a taste for the macabre."  He smirked a little at her observation.  "But, hold on, they did this once on 'Newsround Extra' - the sun expanding - that takes hundreds of years."

"Millions. But the planet's now property of the National Trust. They've been keeping it preserved. See down there?" he asked, pointing to the silver bob spinning around the planet. "Gravity satellite. That's holding back the sun."

"The planet looks the same as ever," she said quietly, stepping closer to the window.  Her Earth, the one she grew up on, not some parallel version that was trying to erase her, was right there, about to be incinerated.

"Yep, classic Earth.  The trust kept all the land masses and bits in place.  But now the money's run out, nature takes over!"

"How long has it got?" she asked, not able to look away.

"About half an hour," the Doctor said.  "And the planet gets roasted."

"Is that why we're here? I mean, is that what you do? Jump in at the last minute and save the Earth?"  She knew it wasn't, but she couldn't stop herself from asking.

"I'm not saving it," he said darkly. "Time's up."

"But what about the people?"

"It's empty!" he assured her.  "They're all gone. All left."

"Just me then," she said sadly.  Something about that statement, and his failure to correct her even though he knew full well that humans were out there, thriving, all over the place, niggled at her.  There was something about this place that he brought her that she hadn't thought of before, hadn't noticed.  Something about him.

She was distracted from this line of thinking as the Steward bustled in and froze, shocked at their presence.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Oh! That's nice," the Doctor snapped, all sarcasm.  "Thanks."

The conversation carried on about hospitality zones and invitations as the Doctor whipped out the psychic paper.  Rose stopped listening.  She just stared at the Steward, suddenly hit over the head with the memories of what had happened here, the people who had died.  Her thoughts took a frantic turn as she tried to remember every minute, every small movement, to pinpoint a moment when it all went bad.  Maybe she could change it.  She'd stopped the Nestene, after all.  Maybe she could stop this.

"The paper's slightly psychic," the Doctor was saying as his voice broke through her thoughts.  "Shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time."

“Handy, that,” she observed.  “Makes for easy party crashing.”  He grinned and put it back in his jacket.

"We have in attendance, the Doctor and Rose Tyler," he boomed from the microphone.  "Thank you! All staff to their positions."  A battalion of what looked to be smurfs in black ops gear swarmed in and took up positions throughout the room.  "Hurry now! Thank you, as quick as we can! Come along, come along! And now, might I introduce the next honored guest, representing the forest of Cheem, we have Trees. Namely, Jabe, Lute and Coffa," he intoned as the trio entered the room.  "There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace. If you can keep the room circulating, thank-you. Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco, the Moxx of Balhoon," he continued as the little man rolled in.  Rose swallowed hard as she gazed on the dead.  Could she save them this time?

"And next, from Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme," the steward continued.  Rose stared at them strangely, unsure how to react.  She knew that they were going to be the first blamed for catastrophes later, but she also knew that they weren’t really people.  The Doctor chuckled at the look on Rose's face, clearly misreading the reasons behind it.

The steward continued on down the list as Jabe and the other trees approached.

"The Gift of Peace," Jabe said, bowing her head a little and gesturing to the plants one her companions was holding.  "I give you a cutting of my grandfather," she continued, handing one of the sprouts to him.

"Thank you," the Doctor said brightly, handing the plant to Rose.  "Yes, gifts…erm…"

"A cutting of myself," Rose said quickly while the Doctor was still patting his jacket.  He stopped and watched her as she pulled a few loose hairs from her head and handed them to Jabe.  "In return for your generosity, I give you a cutting of myself."

"How…interesting," Jabe responded uncertainly, handing the hairs to one of her companions.  "You have our thanks."

"That was quick thinking," the Doctor murmured as the trees moved away.

"Well, what else did we have to give them?" Rose asked, eyebrows raised.  "Air from our lungs?"

The Doctor stared at her.  In spite of the fact that it would have been the equivalent of grabbing Jabe and snogging her senseless, that had been exactly his plan.  Rose had, apparently, unwittingly saved him from what would assuredly been an awkward situation later.  He let out a small chuckle as he shook his head.

Rose smiled at him, then glanced up as the steward introduced the Face of Boe.  She watched the huge head in a jar wheeled in.  The Doctor had referred to him as textbook enigmatic, but she’d never really had a chance to speak with the ancient being.  She’d been too stressed here, and hadn’t been in control of her own mind the second time the Doctor met him on New Earth.  She gave Boe a small smile as another guest approached them.

"The Moxx of Balhoon," the Doctor greeted the small man expansively.

"My felicitations on this historical happenstance," the man replied, and Rose moved silently behind the Doctor.  "I give you the gift of bodily saliva."  The little man hawked and spit with remarkable accuracy into the Doctor's eye.

"Thank you very much," Rose said over the Doctor's shoulder.  The Doctor rubbed the spit out of his eye and regarded her coolly as she burst out laughing.

"You're only laughing because you managed to get out of the line of fire," he accused.

"Well, yeah," she said, still chuckling.  After a moment, he gave a small chuckle as well.

"Ah! The Adherents of the Repeated Meme," he said to the guests approaching them now.  "I bring a cutting of my companion," he told them, deftly pulling a few hairs from Rose's head.  She squeaked and her mouth dropped as he grinned at her before tossing the hairs over the Adherents.

He snickered when she whispered "Apparently in your world revenge is a dish best served _hot_."

"A gift of peace in all good faith," and Adherent said, handing the Doctor a small silver ball, which the Doctor tossed up and caught before handing it to Rose.  She took it gingerly, not wanting to be anywhere near the thing, but not really seeing a way out of it.

"And last but not least, our very special guest," the steward was saying.  "Ladies and Gentlemen, and Trees and Multiforms. Consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth The Last Human."

Rose snorted.  The Doctor looked at her, surprised by her reaction.  She didn't care.  After everything that…thing had put her through, she was allowed a little derision.  She had pitied her in her last moments…but those were a long time from now.

"Oh, now, don't stare," Lady Cassandra said with false modesty.  "I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference! Look how thin I am."

The Doctor choked on a laugh when Rose rolled her eyes.  Rose glanced at him then looked pointedly at Cassandra, shaking her head.  He smiled broadly at her.

After that, Rose tuned out Cassandra's diatribe.  She'd heard it before, and it had been a waste of time then.  Her eyes wandered around the room, taking in each species in turn.  She thought that she had met a couple of them in the other universe, working with Torchwood, specifically the Trees.  She smiled when she remembered the look on one of their faces when she'd brought up the "air from my lungs" incident.  After that conversation, she'd had a whole new understanding of why Jabe had been so keen on the Doctor.

Last time she was here, though, she had been so overwhelmed that she'd run out of the room before she'd really taken time to examine them.   They were all so very different and so fascinating in their own right…and all hanging on Cassandra's every word as she described a giant fire breathing ostrich.  Seriously, did anyone actually _know_ what planet was going to burn?

She tuned back in as the old juke box was rolled in.

"According to the archives, this was called an iPod," Cassandra was saying.  "It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers."

Rose snorted as Cassandra gave the order to play and the dulcet tones of Softcell's Tainted Love began to reverberate through the room.  She exchanged a look with the Doctor and laughed when he started to groove to the music.

The Doctor, for his part, was completely befuddled.  He could admit to himself that this particular...engagement...was a bit of a trial by fire for Rose.  He had been watching her carefully as she'd been introduced to different species and stood witness to Cassandra's outlandish account of Earth, and he could not get a handle on her reaction.  She had been surprised by a few of the more peculiar species, but had kept herself together, and showed only irritation for Cassandra.  He had expected her to run from the room, to tell him she wanted to go home to her telly and chips and never see him or his universe again.  And he would have taken her, telling himself that it had been her choice, that she had just proven what he'd assumed, and he was destined to be a lonely traveler from now until the end of time.  Her simple acceptance of what he had thrown at her left him unsteady, uncertain of his own harsh view of reality after the war.

This internal conflict when unnoticed by Rose, who was considering her options.  She didn't feel like running this time, and wanted to use her new lease on life to the fullest.  She sidled over to the Face of Boe.

"Hello," she said softly.

"Hello," he returned, watching her closely.  She felt disconcerted momentarily when she heard the voice inside her head rather than with her ears.  She didn't think she'd ever completely overcome the strangeness of conversing with a telepath.  "Rose Tyler, you're a long way from home."

"Yeah, I suppose," she agreed softly.  "Hold on, how do you know my name?  We've never met."

"Not yet for you, possibly, in this timeline," he told her calmly.  "For me...oh, so long ago now.  I still enjoy _Moonlight Serenade_ , and I still think of our dance amidst the bombs."

Rose stared at him for a long moment.  There was…so much wrong with what he'd just said.  For one, she wouldn't see the blitz for months yet.  For two, last time she'd checked, Jack was definitely not a giant floating head.  "J…Jack?"

"Hello," he said.

"Hello," she said with a laugh, remembering the first moments on his ship.  "But...how?"

"That…is a very long story," he told her.  "Perhaps, one for another time.  But you, Rose…as lovely as the day I met you, but so much older than you appear.  I'm so sorry."

Rose swallowed hard.  "How…how do you know that?"

"I'm a telepath," he said simply.  "And you have a very long road ahead, stepping in your own footprints in order to avoid the fall."  She felt tears burning in her eyes.  "Keep faith, young Wolf.  If it can be accomplished, then you will be the one to accomplish it."  She nodded, swallowing the lump building in her throat at his simple assurances.  "Take care, though.  While you may be able to change some steps, you cannot change them all.  Not everyone can be saved.  Do not let this change you.  Simply let it teach you."

Rose swiped at a few tears that had managed to fall and laughed in embarrassment.  "God, Jack, when did you become enlightened?"

"Two for one special with the telepathy," he replied.

"Was that a joke?"

"Perhaps."

Rose stared at him for a long moment, then burst out laughing.  She felt his chuckle in her mind.  "Well, Jack, can't exactly ask you to dance now, can I?" she said softly after a moment.  "Tell you what, though…we'll always have the blitz."  She placed a hand softly on the glass casing around him, and felt a hum in her mind, different from the TARDIS but very comforting, sort of a mental hug.  She smiled at him before noticing other guests coming to speak to him.  "I'll just go…mingle, yeah?"

"Before you go, Rose, allow me to give you one last piece of advice."  She nodded.  "What you are doing here, walking this path again, it is very dangerous.  Rewriting history does not come without consequences.  One of those will be the Doctor himself.  Be wary…he already knows that there is something different about you, though he may not speak of it for some time while he's trying to understand it himself.  You must tread carefully."

"I'll…I'll try to keep that in mind," she said thoughtfully.

"Good bye, Rose Tyler," Boe said softly.  "Until Big Ben."

She nodded and stepped away.  She stood uncertainly for a moment as Boe greeted other guests, then gave up, fleeing to the observation deck that she and the Doctor had first entered.

She sat down hard on the top landing and hugged her knees to her chest, looking out at the slowly expanding sun.  She couldn't help wondering if this was all in vain.  What if, at the end of all of this, she wasn't able to stop what happened?  What if they still got trapped on either side of the breach, a hair's breadth away but completely cut off?  She wasn't sure if she could survive losing him a second time, never mind the problems the other universe had with her.

"Rose?" called the Doctor's voice.  "You in there?"

"Yep," she called, stretching out into a more relaxed pose.

"You left suddenly," he commented, taking a seat opposite the stairs.  The same one he had last time, she realized with a smile.

"Just…thinking," she hedged.

"From what I hear, the Face of Boe can have that effect," he remarked, then stopped to watch her for a moment.  "You know, apart from the abrupt departure, you're taking all this rather well.  Even striking up a conversation with our host and benefactor!"

She laughed.  "Social butterfly, that's me."  She turned to face him, studying his profile as he looked out at the sun.  The TARDIS had said she could try to get him to open up more, but not to push too hard.  She tried to figure out how she was going to be able to tell what was too hard.  She remembered the fight they'd had last time when she desperately tried to get any kind of solid information out of.  Different tactic, maybe.  "So where're you from?"

"All over the place," he said evasively.

Or not. 

"Why are they all speaking English?" she tried again, feeling the familiar sense of déjà vu that accompanied the conversations they'd had before.  "I'd expect they'd all speak different languages."

"They do," he said, looking at her again.  "You're just hearing English.  That's the TARDIS.  Telepathic field, gets inside your brain and translates."

"Well, when you put it that way," she said with a laugh.  "I mean, who doesn't tool around the universe in a psychic spaceship these days?"

"Er…no one," he said, shifting uncomfortably.  "No one but me.  Well, people from my home planet," he added quickly.

"Where's that, then?  What planet?"

"It's not like you know where it is," he said, trying to dodge her inquiry.

"A bit unlikely, yeah," she agreed.  "So what's the harm?  Not like I can jet off there without you."  She paused, watching his face.  She saw a crack, just a bit of uncertainty.  "How about just the name?"

"Gallifrey," he said hoarsely after a moment.  "It's called Gallifrey.  The Shining World of the Seventh System.  Home of the Time Lords"

"Beautiful name," she murmured.  He nodded.  "So you're a Time Lord?"  He nodded again.  "What're they for?"

He laughed.  "They're not _for_ anything.  They just are.  Well, they sort of...govern over time.  Prevent paradoxes, monitor fluctuations..."

Rose was stunned that she'd gotten this much from him in one go.  This almost encompassed her whole knowledge base for at least the first year she'd travelled with him.  She didn't want to press her luck and push him away, but she didn't want to completely give up yet either.

"What's it like there?"

His eyes unfocused for a moment as he recalled his home. "The sky's a burnt orange," he said softly.  "With the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever – slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow…"

She sat still and listened, afraid to breathe.  She'd known about Gallifrey, of course; but when the Doctor spoke to her about Gallifrey, it was almost always with some bitterness.  She had never heard him speak with this hopeless longing…

And suddenly, the thought that had nagged her before, when they'd been talking about it being the Earth's time, came to fore.  This was why he'd brought her here.  Maybe not on purpose, but this was part of it.  He was fresh from the war, still plagued by the destruction of his home, the destruction he himself had wrought.  He had brought her here to show her her home burning, so she would feel something of that loss.  That's why he didn't correct her when she said she was the only one left.  He wanted someone else to feel his pain, if only for a moment.  He wanted someone else to understand what he had lost.

"Can you take me there, sometime?" she asked after a moment.

He stared at her for a moment, then jumped up.  "Nah, that's no fun for me.  I don't want to go home."  He walked over the observation window.  "There's a whole wide universe out there to explore, a million million time periods to experience."

She walked up to him slowly, and put her hand in his.  He glanced down at her, and for a moment she could see the haunted look, the pain of the war.  "We don't have to go there," she said quietly.  Then, more brightly, "like my mate Shereen always says, don't argue with the designated driver."

He smiled then, pushing the past back into whatever dark corner of his mind he usually kept it.

"Not like I can call for a taxi," she continued, pulling out her phone.  "It seems we're a bit out of range."

"Tell you what," the Doctor said, taking the phone from her and taking off the back.  "With a bit of jiggery pokery..."

"Is that a technical term, 'jiggery pokery'?"

"Yeah, I came first in jiggery pokery, what about you?"

"Nah, failed hullabaloo."

The Doctor chuckled as he fit a new battery into her phone, closed it up, and handed it back to her.  "There you go," he said happily.

Even knowing what he was going to do, she still took it uncertainly.  It still didn't seem possible that she'd be able to make calls like that with her old Nokia.

She dialed her mum, and couldn't hold back a gasp when it started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Mum?" she asked, her voice breaking just a little bit.

"Oh, what is it?" Jackie asked.  "What's wrong? What have I done now? Oh, this red top's falling to bits! You should get your money back. Go on! There must be something, you never phone in the middle of the day!"

Rose held her hand over her mouth, holding back a sob.  That was one of the longest speeches she'd gotten from her mother months without having to resort to throwing something at the wall to get her attention.

Jackie Tyler, before the Doctor, before Torchwood, before Pete and Tony, living her life in the Powell estate, before her daughter started slipping away from her.  She couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing!" she cried happily.  "You all right, though?"

"Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?"

"What day is it?"

"Wednesday. All day," Jackie added, sounding a bit miffed.  "You got a hangover? Oh, I tell you what, put a quid in that lottery syndicate, I'll pay you back later."

"Yeah, um, I was just calling 'cause I might be late home."

"Is there something wrong?"

"No! I'm fine," Rose assured her hurriedly, glancing out the window.  "Top of the world!"

The Doctor laughed as she hung up, taking in her stunned face.

"Think that's amazing," he told her, "you want to see the bill."

"That was five billion years ago," Rose said slowly.  "I just called my mum, through time, to five _billion_ years ago."

"I did try to tell you that I was impressive," he said with a smile.

Rose turned and launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck.  "Thank you, Doctor," she whispered into his ear.  She couldn't remember now if she'd ever thanked him.  No, she realized, she had just brought up the fact that her mum was dead.  Talk about missing the big picture.  "Thank you so much for that."

Hesitantly, he brought his arms around her.  "You're welcome," he said.  He wasn't used to having someone around who was quite as…affectionate as this Rose Tyler.  He came to the conclusion that he didn't mind.  He actually quite liked hugging her.  Though he was clearly never going to tell her that.

Suddenly, they broke apart as the whole ship shuddered and lurched.  The Doctor steadied them both, then glanced around with a curious look on his face.  "That's not supposed to happen," he said after a moment, not quite able to hide his smile now that things had gotten interesting.


	5. The End of the World Part 2

"Honored guests may be reassured that gravity pockets may cause slight turbulence, thanking you," said the steward's voice over the loudspeaker.

The Doctor looked thoughtful, then glanced at Rose.  "C'mon," he said quickly, taking her hand and leading her out of the room.

"That wasn't a gravity pocket," he said as they made their way back into the Manchester Suite.  "I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that."  He fiddled with the control panel near the door, glancing up as Jabe approached.  "What do you think, Jabe? Listen to the engines - they pitched up about 30 hertz, is that dodgy or what?"

"It's the sound of metal," Jabe shrugged.  "It doesn't make any sense to me."

"Where's the engine room?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she began uncertainly, then added, "but the maintenance duct is just behind our guest suite, I could show you. And your wife?" she hinted, gesturing to Rose.

"She's not my wife," the Doctor corrected quickly, embarrassed.  _Just wait, mate,_ she thought wryly.  Oh, Rose remembered well how often they would be mistaken for a couple, and as well as how their protests had grown more vehement as the lines blurred steadily over time.

"Partner?"

"No."

"Concubine?"

"Nope."

"Prostitute," she tried after another glance at Rose.

"Excuse me, do you mind?" Rose cut in.  "I'm his companion, his friend, in a totally platonic, completely non sex slave-y way.  I don’t know about you, but where I come from, jumping to conclusions like that is insulting.  Tell you what, you two go and pollinate, I'm going to catch up with family. Quick word with Michael Jackson."

The Doctor chuckled quietly at her outburst, grinning widely.  She took a deep breath and smiled up at him, rolling her eyes a little before making her way to Cassandra.

"Don't start a fight," the Doctor warned her.  She assented with a little wave.  Not like she could really rough her up anyway.  She'd probably just bounce off.  "I'm all yours," she heard him say to Jabe.

"And I want you home by midnight," she called after them.  The Doctor shot her a grin over his shoulder as they walked out.

"Hello, Cassandra," she said quietly as she approached the...individual.  "I'm Rose.  Rose Tyler."

"Yes, of course," Cassandra greeted her theatrically, assuming they'd met before and she just couldn't be bothered to remember.  "So good to see you again.  Walk with me, won't you?"

"How are you handling all this?" she asked curiously as Cassandra was wheeled over to the expansive viewing window.

"Soon, the sun will blossom into a red giant, and my home will die," Cassandra said dramatically.  "That's where I used to live, when I was a little boy. Down there. Mummy and Daddy had a little house built into the side of the Los Angeles Crevice."  She let out a large sigh.  "I had such fun."

"Wouldn't you have been a little _girl_?" she asked, arching an eyebrow when Cassandra made a dismissive noise.  "You're not the last human either, are you Cassandra?"

"I am the last _pure_ human," Cassandra spat acidly.  "The others…mingled. Oh, they call themselves 'New Humans' and 'Proto-humans' and 'Digi-humans' even 'Human-ish' but you know what I call them? Mongrels," she finished in a disgusted tone.

"They _evolved_ , Cassandra,” Rose said.  “They evolved and changed in order to stay alive.  And you, what have you done?  Stayed behind and turned into…I dunno.  How many operations have you had, anyway?"

"708," she said promptly.  "Next week, it's 709—I’m having my blood bleached."  She paused to eye Rose up and down.  "Is that why you wanted a word? You could be flatter, Rose. You've got a little bit of a chin poking out."

"I would rather die than live like you—a  bitchy trampoline, with nothing to show for her extended and, frankly, over rated existence then an inflated ego and bad lipstick."

"Oh well. What do you know."

"A hell of a lot more than you, apparently.  F'r instance, I know for a fact that ostriches didn't breathe fire, and that Tainted Love is never going to be considered classical."  Rose stepped closer to her and looked hard into her eyes.  "I was born on that planet. And so was my mum, and so was my dad and that makes me officially the last human being in this room, 'cause you're not human. You've had it all nipped and tucked and flattened till there's nothing left. Anything human got chucked in the bin. You're just skin, Cassandra. Bad lipstick and skin. Nice talking."

She stalked away, but hesitated when she reached the doors.  She had left before, she remembered, and that's when things had begun to go wrong.  She'd been knocked out and trapped away, leaving the Doctor to battle the unknown alone, forcing him to waste precious moments trying to save her.

Well, she wasn't letting that happen again.  Not this time.  She spun around resolutely, and caught sight of the Face of Boe.  He nodded slightly at her.  Okay, she'd take that as a sign that this was step she could change with at least some amount of success.  She leaned against a wall, out of the way of the other guests as she waited for the Doctor to return.

"The planet's end," called Cassandra from the middle of the room.  "Come gather! Come gather! Bid farewell to the cradle of civilization. Let us mourn her with a traditional ballad."

"You've _got_ to be joking," Rose muttered as Britney Spears' Toxic blasted from the old juke box.

"Earth Death in five minutes," the computer intoned as the Doctor and Jabe walked back into the room.  Rose hurried over to him, grabbing his hand and sort of hugging his arm.

"Alright?" she asked him as he glanced down at her.  He gave her a tight smile and squeezed her hand in response as Jabe strode toward the center of the room and called for attention.  Cassandra looked a bit miffed to have the spotlight off her, Rose noticed with glee.

"The metal machine confirms," Jabe announced.  "The spider devices have infiltrated the whole of Platform One."

"How's that possible?" Cassandra demanded.  "Our private rooms are protected by a code wall.  Moisturize me, moisturize me," she ordered her attendants, a sure sign of distress.  Rose narrowed her eyes, knowing that her shock and concern were all a bluff.

"Summon the Steward!" cried the Moxx of Balhoon.

"I'm afraid the Steward is dead," Jabe informed him sadly.

Amidst the gasps, Rose felt like she'd been punched.  She'd completely forgotten about the steward. _Not everyone can be saved_ , the Face of Boe had said.  She couldn't help feeling like she had let the man down by not remembering him in time.

Rose was brought back to the present as Cassandra yelled "This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe! He invited us!"  Boe shook his head, looking at her sadly.  "Talk to the face! Talk to the face!"

"Talk to the skin," Rose muttered mockingly.  The Doctor glanced at her quizzically, then smirked.

"Easy way of finding out," he told them, jumping forward with the spider thing.  "Someone bought a little pet on board.  Let's send him back to Master."

He placed the spider down on the floor, which immediately scuttled over to Cassandra and looked up at her. Cassandra looked shifty for a moment, but the spider quickly moved on, stopping in front of the Adherents of the Repeated Meme.

"The Adherents of the Repeated Meme," Cassandra gasped.  "J'accuse!"

"Oh please!" Rose shot out.  "Something's wrong with that thing," she said, narrowing her eyes at the spider.

"Sort of," the Doctor agreed, shooting her an appraising look.  "Because that's all very well, and really kind of obvious," the Doctor noted, sauntering over to the group.  "But if you stop and think about it—“ He dodged as one of them tried to strike him, catching its arm and ripping it off.  "A Repeated Meme is just an idea. And that's all they are. An idea."  He pulled at a wire in the arm, and suddenly all of the Adherents of the Repeated Meme crumpled into a bundle of black cloaks. There were more gasps, but Rose saw Cassandra roll her eyes.  "Remote controlled Droids. Nice little cover for the real troublemaker. Go on, Jimbo," he told the spider, nudging it with his foot.  "Go home!"

"I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed," Cassandra spat as the spider ambled back over to her.  "At arms!" she shouted to her attendants, who raised their moisturizing canisters at the Doctor.

"What are you going to do, moisturize me?" he asked mockingly.

"With acid. Oh, you're too late anyway. My spiders have control of the mainframe. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax free, past every code wall. I'm not just as pretty face."

"Not even that," Rose countered.  "But seriously?  Sabotaging a ship while you're still inside it? How stupid's that?"

"I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims," Cassandra explained.  "The compensation would have been enormous."

"Five billion years and it still comes down to money," the Doctor scorned.

"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this?"  Cassandra asked.  "Flatness costs a fortune. I am The Last Human, Doctor. Me. Not that freaky little kid of yours."

"Arrest her!" cried the Moxx of Balhoon

"Oh, shut it, pixie." Cassandra muttered.  "I've still got my final option."

"Earth Death in 3 minutes," came the computer voice.

"And here it comes," Cassandra continued.  "You're just as useful dead, all of you. I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old Earth song go? ' _Burn, baby, burn_ '."

"Then you'll burn with us," Jabe reminded her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Cassandra said, dripping insincerity.  "I know the use of teleportation is strictly forbidden, but... I'm such a naughty thing. Spiders - activate."  The ship shuddered as explosions went off throughout the body.  "Force fields gone with the planet about to explode. At least it'll be quick. Just like my fifth husband," she added with a giggle.  "Oh, shame on me. Buh-bye, darlings! Buh-bye, my darlings!"

"Heat levels rising," the computer began chanting as Cassandra teleported out.

"Reset the computer," suggested the Moxx of Balhoon.

"Only the Steward would know how," Jabe told him.

"No. We can do it by hand," the Doctor said, moving towards the door.  "There must be a system restore switch. Jabe, Rose, come on. You lot - just chill!" he called over his shoulder as they departed.

"Earth Death in 2 minutes," they heard the computer tell them as they raced down the maintenance corridor.  "Heat levels-critical."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Rose muttered, panting and wiping her forehead.

They darted into the ventilation chamber, and Rose gasped at the sight of the giant fans rotating laboriously.

"Oh, and guess where the switch is," the Doctor said sarcastically.  Rose followed his gaze to the other side of the beam under the fans.

"Heat levels - rising," the computer noted as the Doctor pulled down a lever, slowing the fans.  "External temperature - five thousand degrees."

The Doctor let go of the lever, and stared hopelessly as the fans sped up again.  Rose saw Jabe reach for the lever, and jumped to grab it before her.

"You can't," she told the tree quickly.  "The heat's going to vent through this place."  Jabe looked at her uncertainly.  "Jabe," Rose said, gently but firmly, "you're made of wood.  You have to get out of here.  Now."

Jabe looked at the Doctor uncertainly, and he nodded.  With one last look at Rose, she turned on her heel and ran.

"Right," Rose said, turning to the Doctor with a grin.  "Stop wasting time, Time Lord."

His jaw dropped, and he gaped at her for a moment, unable to believe her cheek.  Then he gave a small, disbelieving chuckle.  "Right you are, Rose Tyler," he said finally, turning to the fans.

Rose watched nervously as he navigated his way between the still spinning blades.  She heard the computer shout more warnings, and bit her lip.  "You have to hurry, Doctor!" she called to him.

"Oi!" he yelled, glancing over his shoulder.  "I'd like to see you try this!"

"Nah, I think you've got it sorted on your own," she called back with as he dodged another fan blade.

He got through the last one, and pulled the lever.  Rose noted with relief that there had been no countdown this time.  The fans soon slowed down further, the red heat receding from the room.  The Doctor made his way back to her, ice blue eyes blazing.  She launched herself at him as soon as he reached the platform, and he didn't hesitate this time as he swept her up in his arms.  They held each other tightly for a moment before he pulled away to look down into her face.

"You were fantastic," he said sincerely.

"Yeah, holding down levers," she said with a laugh.  "Dirty job but someone's gotta do it."

He smiled at her as he released her, grabbing her hand and pulling her from the chamber.

Back in the Manchester Suite, Rose took a swift glance around.  There was Jabe, with her companions, alive and well rather than ashy debris in the ventilation chamber.  The Moxx of Balhoon was also still alive, though looking admittedly singed and uncomfortable.  Rose sighed with relief.

"Are you alright?" Jabe asked, hurrying towards them.

"Yeah, we're fine," the Doctor told her as Rose nodded.  "I'm full of ideas," he continued, letting go of Rose’s hand and pacing around the room.  "I'm bristling with them. Idea number one - teleportation through five thousand degrees needs some kind of feed. Idea number two - this feed must be hidden nearby."  He strode over to the ostrich egg and smashed it open, revealing the teleportation feed.  He picked it up and paced back near Rose.  "Idea number three - if you're as clever as me, then a teleportation feed can be reversed."

He twisted the feed, and Cassandra appeared before them, apparently in the middle of gloating. 

"Ah, you should have seen their little alien faces," she was saying, laughing hard.  Then she stopped and noticed where she was.  "Oh."

"The Last Human," the Doctor sneered.

"So…you passed my little test," Cassandra said, scrambling.  "Bravo. This makes you eligible to join the er…the human club."

"Someone died, Cassandra," he told her, his voice hard.  "You murdered him.  You tried to kill all the people here."

"That depends on your definition of 'people'," Cassandra said dismissively.  "And that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries. Take me to court then, Doctor! And watch me smile, and cry, and flutter—“

"And creak?" Rose asked, watching her closely.

"And what?"

"Creak," she repeated as the noise became more apparent.  "You're creaking."

"What? Ah! Ah! I'm drying out!" she cried as her skin paled and tightened, her eyes becoming blood shot.  "Oh, sweet heavens! Moisturize me! Moisturize me! Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys! It's too hot!"

"You raised the temperature," the Doctor said as red blotches began to appear all over her.

"Have pity!" she cried, terrified.  "Moisturize me! Oh, Doctor!"

"Help her," Rose whispered before she could stop herself.  There was no love lost between her and Cassandra, but this was still painful to watch.

"Everything has its time," the Doctor said, watching Cassandra coldly.  "And everything dies."

"I'm…too…young!" Cassandra shouted, just before exploding.  The Doctor stared at the frame for a long moment, then turned swiftly and walked out the door.

Rose stayed in the suite as the guests slowly went on their way, gazing out the large window.  She watched the floating bits of rock and rubble that used to be her home.  She had saved people, people that had been lost the last time she was here.  Not all of them, but most.  And they had averted crisis before the countdown, so the guests were still able to watch, to bear witness to the death of her world.

But not her.  She'd missed it again.  She wondered idly if this was how he felt after his planet had burned, but realized the stupidity of that thought at once.  His loss was greater, so much greater, than she could ever hope to comprehend, even if he managed to trust her enough to tell her his whole life story.  He was still the only one who had been there, the only one left now in the whole universe, and he could never go back.

She heard him walk up beside her, but couldn't turn away from the destruction.

"The end of the Earth," she said quietly.  "It's gone. And we were too busy saving ourselves and everyone else, we missed it.  I'm glad that the other guests were safe," she added quickly, wiping her tears away.  "They were safe enough to see it.  That's important.  But still...All those years... all that history...Just...gone."

The Doctor stood with her for a moment, looking out at the debris.  The Rose felt his hand in hers.

"Come with me."

oOoOo

Rose stepped out onto a busy London street.  People passed her in either direction, paying her no mind, intent on whatever task they had at the moment.  Mothers and children, teenagers, salesmen and stockbrokers...humanity swirled around her, still buzzing here and now.

"You think it'll last forever," the Doctor said.  "People, and cars and concrete. But it won't. One day, it's all gone. Even the sky."  He looked up at the blue grey expanse, but Rose knew he was seeing a very different sky, one that gleamed a burnt orange.  "My planet's gone."

She looked at him and waited.  She saw the muscle work in his jaw, one of the only signs this version of him had of the emotions beneath the surface.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he said after a moment.  "I lied to you.  Before.  I lied because I liked it, because I could pretend for a just a second that it was still out there."  He looked down at her as she took his hand.  "It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust. Before it's time."

"What happened?"

"There was a war," he said simply, looking away.  "And we lost."

"A war with who?"  He didn't answer, but his eyes had that unfocused quality that said he was lost in the past.  "What about your people?  The Time Lords?"

"They're all gone. I'm the only survivor.   Last of the Time Lords," he said sadly.  "I'm left travelling on my own because there's no one else."

"There's me," she said softly, squeezing his hand and giving him a small smile.  He smiled a little, but it was tight, and quickly turned into a calculating look.

"You've seen how dangerous it is," he said after a moment.  "Do you want to go home?"

"No," she said quickly.  "I want…" _Forever_ , she thought.  She tried to come up with something to say, but the smell of chips distracted her.  It had been a long time since her last meal.  "Can you smell chips?" she asked, looking around.

The Doctor stared at her for a second, then laughed.  "Yeah," he agreed as the tension around them snapped.  "Yeah!"

"I want chips," she said fervently.

"Me too," he said, still smiling.

"Right then, before you get me back in that box, chips it is," she told him.  "Lemme guess, Mr. Psychic Paper—you haven't got any money."  His grin widened and he shook his head, looking completely unapologetic.  "What sort of date are you? Come on then, tightwad, chips are on me.  We've only got five billion years before the shops close," she added with a grin.

He laughed and they started walking toward the chippy, hand in hand.


	6. Of Chips and Time Lords

They made their way to the chippy, where the Doctor quickly snagged a table and watched as Rose placed and paid for their order.  He couldn’t quite make sense of her.  He’d had an inkling that she was different after she’d entered the TARDIS when they first met, but he’d brushed it off as an invention of his mind trying to give him an excuse to invite her along.  Now, though…he was certain she was different then when he’d met her at Heinrik’s.  Just a little…but enough.  She was a little quieter, she stood a little straighter, seemed a little…sadder.

Sadder?

The girl smiled all the time, she always seemed to have something, just behind her eyes.  Her large, expressive, beautiful hazel eyes, that he really shouldn’t find half as distracting as he did.

And then what she’d said about living being harder than dying.  Who says that?  Well, he might, but she was a nineteen year old girl, just starting out in life, with everything still in front of her.  She even got along with the Face of Boe, who, from everything he’d heard, unsettled pretty much everyone.  He hadn’t gotten much of a chance to speak to him, but he’d said that Rose was special.

He knew that.  She’d accepted everything she saw, she had been quick to action, she’d even made the connection with Cassandra.  If it weren’t for her, who could tell how many more people would have died?

“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked, breaking into his train of thought.

“You’d be wasting your money,” he told her as she sat down.

“Wouldn’t want to do that,” she said with a grin, that grin that involved her tongue poking out just a little.  It was a good grin, the Doctor decided.  “Considering I’m already paying for dinner.”  She speared a chip with her fork, and the Doctor laughed when she moaned a little as she chewed.  “Oh, these are gorgeous.  Come on, eat up.”

He obediently picked up his own fork and shoved a chip in his mouth.

“So, is this the sort of thing all Time Lords did?” she asked after a moment.  “Travelling around, saving people?”

“Ah…no,” he admitted, shifting uncomfortably.  “They were mostly more…hands off.  Didn’t get along with them much, to be honest.”

“But the way you described your planet,” she said, frowning.  “It sounded so beautiful.”

“It was beautiful to look at,” he said, a little sadly.  “But its beauty was like an open flame…pretty to look at, but dangerous to touch.”

What the hell made him say that?  What the hell made him tell this girl any of this?  What business was it of hers where he came from, or where he’d been?  She was so open and honest, and there had already been a few instances where that had led him to divulge more than he’d planned.  He was going to have to watch himself around this one.

“So why Earth?” she asked, again breaking into his musings.

“Hmm?”

“Why Earth?  I mean, even I was able to look you up online.”

He frowned.  That was…disconcerting.  “I dunno.  Because I enjoy watching apes at play.”

“Riiight,” she said, drawing out the word.  “But you admit you’ve been here a lot.”

“I suppose,” he said, reluctantly.  “I got…stuck here for a while.  Ended up working with some people to pass the time.  UNIT, they were called.  United Nations Intelligence Task force.  Alien experts.  Good people.”

“Couldn’t imagine you stuck anywhere,” she said softly, but with an odd inflection that he couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of.

“What about you?” he asked after a moment, watching her carefully.

“What about me?”

“Who is Rose Tyler?” he asked.  “Let’s hear your story.”

She shrugged.  “Not much of a story, to be honest.  Shop girl from the Estate, dropped out of school because of boy, raised by my mum after my dad died when I was a baby.  Not really important.”

His eyes narrowed a little as he leaned back and studied her.  Her head was bowed as she picked at the chips, her body language confirming her insecurities.  But this was the same girl who had faced down the Nestene consciousness, the Face of Boe, and the last human without flinching.  On top of that…her timelines were…odd.  He had a general rule against looking into the timelines of his companions, but hers seemed to fold over each other and knot themselves.  She was clearly living through time normally, but something, somewhere, was twisted.  He couldn’t tell how or when.  It grated against his senses, thought she certainly didn’t seem to be aware of it. 

There was only one thing about her that he could be absolutely sure of.

“Rose Tyler,” he said softly after a long moment.  She looked up.  “You are very important.  Don’t ever forget that.”


	7. The Unquiet Dead Part 1

"Hold that one down!" the Doctor shouted over the alarm. She looked over at the button he had pointed to amidst all the shaking, then she looked over at the one she was holding now. No doubt he wanted them both held down, so making a decision, she swung her leg up and pressed the other one down with her foot.  The Doctor glanced at her, quirking an eyebrow in amusement at these antics, and she tried not to smile, knowing this would be tame compared to things his next self would do to the console.

"It's not going to work!" she cried.

"Oi! I promised you a time machine and that's what you're getting. Now, you've seen the future. Let's have a look at the past.  1860. How does 1860 sound?"

"A decade out of your driving range," she muttered under her breath.  Any second, his infamous driving would strike again, and they would go a little off track…just a little…by a county and about nine years.  "Sounds brilliant," she said aloud however, smiling at him.  "Fantastic, even."

He smiled broadly at her.  "That's what I like to hear.  Hold on, here we go!"

The TARDIS shook violently as it hurtled through the vortex.  It landed with a rough jolt, knocking them both away from the console and on their backs.  They exchanged a look and burst into laughter.

"Blimey, I forgot about that," she said as she got up.  He gave her an odd look.  "I've only been around for a few landings, after all,” she added quickly, backpedalling.  “Takes some getting used to."

"Sorry," he said, looking contrite.

"No worries," she said.  "Nothing broken.  It was fun."  She joined him at the console.  "So, where are we?"

"I did it!" he exclaimed in excitement.  "Give the man a medal. Earth, Naples, December 24th, 1860."

"It's Christmas!"

"All yours," he told her, gesturing to the doors.  He had a gleam of anticipation in his eyes, the same one he always got at the beginning of an adventure when they landed somewhere new, someone they'd never been before.  She knew that part of it was that he loved seeing it through her eyes, the fresh young traveler, open and new to everything the universe had to offer.  Some of his weariness always fell away through these vicarious experiences.

"It's incredible," she breathed.

"You haven't seen it yet!"

"I know, but, it's like...there's these moments, right?  Happening all the time, every second, everywhere.  Some of them are important, some of them are just important to the people experiencing them, but then they're gone, just like that," she said, snapping her fingers.  "Irretrievable.  But not for you.  You get to relive all the moments, important or not, moments that happened across the universe and a hundred thousand sunsets ago.  It's no wonder you never stay still," she finished, shaking her head a little.

"Not a bad life," he agreed softly, watching her.

"Better with two," she said with a grin, getting a thrill at speaking those familiar words again.  On an impulse, she jumped up and kissed his cheek before dashing off to the corridor.

"Oi oi oi, where you going?"

She froze for a second, realizing her mistake.  She wasn't supposed to know where the Wardrobe was yet.  She turned quickly.  "Just seeing if I can find something more era appropriate on this ship somewhere.  Might start a riot if I go out like this."

"Right, good plan Barbarella." he said, eyeing her up and down.  "It's the Wardrobe you want. First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, it's the fifth door on your left. Hurry up!"

She nodded happily and took off again.  She found the dress she'd warn last time waiting for her, and offered up a silent thanks to the ship as she climbed into it as quickly as she could.  Quick as she could was not, however, as quick as she would've liked.  1860s fashion, while beautiful, was not conducive to speedy changes, even with the TARDIS's corset machine to help.

Once she was done, she examined her reflection critically.  The dress was even more amazing than she remembered, but it wasn't exactly "adventure friendly."  Running was going to be a pain.  She was suddenly very glad that they hadn't had more adventures that required costume attire.  She was also very jealous that the Doctor, both versions, had seemed to effortlessly fit into whatever time period they were in without so much as a bat of an eye.  She sighed heavily and made her way back to the console room.

"Blimey," the Doctor gasped when he looked up.

"Think I cleaned up rather nice," she said, smoothing down the skirts a little.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"Considering I'm human," she teased with a grin.  He just stared up at her, looking a little stunned.  Her smile widened.  It wasn't often she'd seen the Doctor speechless.  "And you've changed, as well.  New jumper?"

"Yep," he said happily after shaking himself out of his stupor.  "All I needed.  This look is timeless, you know."

"Oh, I know," she said, pulling a face.  "If only we were all so lucky.  Well, c'mon then," she said as he laughed, darting over to him and grabbing his arm to haul him over to the doors.  He stumbled after her, reaching the doors just behind her.

She stepped out, relishing the feel of real snow under her feet.  It had been so long since she'd been able to experience that.  She skipped away a little, then spun back to the Doctor, beaming at him.  He smiled back, thrilled that she was so happy.

"Ready for this?" he asked, walking up to her and offering his arm.  She took it, leaning against him a little to catch the whiff of leather.  She nodded and grinned, her tongue poking out just a little between her teeth.  "Here we go!  History!"

oOoOo

They walked around for a few minutes while Rose happily drank in the sights around her.  The slightly provincial surroundings, the carriages, the carolers...Rose felt more at ease here, now, with the Doctor, than she had in years.  She knew it wasn't going to last, but she was determined to enjoy it while it did.

The Doctor moved away to get a paper, and Rose followed after him.  She saw his face fall when he realized where they were, but she just smiled.

"I got the flight a bit wrong," he admitted.

"I don't care," she replied.

"It's not 1860, it's 1869."

"I don't care," she repeated.

"And it's not Naples,"

" _I don't care_ ," she said again.

"It's Cardiff," he finished, folding up the paper and pointedly avoiding her gaze.

"Brilliant," she said with a bright smile.

He stopped and stared at her.  "Really?" he asked in disbelief.  "Brilliant?  _Cardiff_?"

"Oi, don't knock it," she told him.  "Great things will happen one day in Cardiff, you'll see."

He looked around him for a moment, then smiled. "You're cute when you're delusional, you know that?"

They started walking again, but soon heard a scream from a building nearby.  The Doctor stopped for a moment, looking at the building.  "That's more like it," he said with a grin, tossing the paper aside.  He sprinted toward the commotion as Rose rolled her eyes.

"And so starts the running," she muttered, hitching up her skirts to go after him.

They fought against the crowd rushing out of the theater to see the wraith fly up past the balconies.

"Fantastic," the Doctor murmured before running to the stage to talk to the man there.  _Ah, Dickens_ , Rose thought happily, gazing at the man fondly before turning her attention back to the people now trying to manhandle the dead woman out of her seat.  She wanted to get to them quick, hopefully somehow get a jump on this whole situation.

"Doctor!" she called.  "I'm going after them!"

"Be careful!" he shouted back as she sprinted back out of the theater.

"Gwyneth!" she called as she caught sight of them outside.  "Gwyneth, we need to talk about this."

"What?" the woman cried, turning around quickly.  "Who are you?  How did you—“

"No time," she said quickly, leaning on the hearse and panting a little.  Seriously, she really needed to gain back some of her endurance.  She vowed to find to hit the pool when they made it back to the TARDIS.  "These creatures, the ones that are taking the dead, they're not—“

She was cut off as a hand grabbed her roughly, pressing a cloth to her mouth.

 _Bloody hell_ , she thought as blackness descended.  _Not again._

They manhandled her into the hearse, and she felt the old man sneak a feel.  Her mind recoiled, but she registered a voice calling her name before she lost consciousness completely.

oOoOo

She woke slowly and sat up, feeling achey and dizzy.  What the hell had happened?

Oh, _that's_ right.  She'd been kidnapped.  _Again._

She'd been trying to help.  If they could have just stopped and listened for two minutes, waited for the Doctor, it would have all been different.  Well, maybe.

She heard a groaning behind her and froze.  She turned slowly to see the man wreathed in a blue glow sitting up in a coffin.

"Oh, no...no no no no...not again."  She jumped up from the table, sprinting for the door.  She pounded on it, realizing that even her Torchwood training was useless because the door toward her instead of away.  "Doctor!" she shouted.  "Doctor, lemme out!"

She heard more groaning behind her, and chanced a look.  The old woman was up again now too.  She took up pounding and shouting with a new vigor.  She heard running in the hall, and backed up quickly, screaming when she felt an arm come around her neck as the door was kicked open by the Oncoming Storm.

"I think this is my dance," the Doctor said, grabbing her and pulling her to his side.  He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her away a few paces.  She shivered as she felt his solid strength around her.

"It's a prank," Dickens said from behind the Doctor.  "It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence."

"No, we're not," the Doctor said darkly.  "The dead are walking."  Then he grinned down at Rose.  "Hi!"

"Hello," she said with a smile.  "Good to see you, Charlie," she added over his shoulder.  Dickens gave her a surprised smile.  The Doctor was momentarily nonplussed.  After a pause, he was able to drag his gaze from her face and take in the attackers.

"My name's the Doctor," he told them, still not sounding friendly.  "Who are you, then? What do you want?"

"We're failing," the man said, his voice having a weird double echo effect.  "Open the rift, we're dying. Trapped in this form…cannot sustain…help us."

Both he and the old woman let out strange, ethereal screams, and the blue glow flowed out of them and into the lamps.

oOoOo

The Doctor and Rose followed Gwyneth to the parlor as Sneed and Dickens set about placing the corpses back into their coffins.  Dickens, she suspected, had volunteered in order to check for evidence of shenanigans.

As soon as Gwyneth left them to boil the kettle, Rose spoke.

"You can't open the rift," she said urgently.  "We need to get rid of the ghosts without it."

"They need help," the Doctor said, confused.

"Really," she said, raising her eyebrows.  "And killing me was going to help them, was it?"

The Doctor opened his mouth, but no words came out.  Sneed chose that moment to enter the room with Dickens, and she rounded on him.

"And you!" she shouted.  "I was trying to _help_ you.  And what do you do?  Knock me out and cop a feel before throwing me in the back of a hearse with a corpse?  In what way does that sound like a good plan?"

"I will not be spoken to like this," he said gruffly.

"Oh yes you bloody well will," she yelled.  She'd been angry before, but now she was furious.  Because she knew that he was aware, at least in part, of how dangerous this situation was, and willingly subjected her to it out of fear for his business.  "Because, as if that all wasn't bad enough, you then threw me in a room with dead bodies and ghosts that you _knew_ were dangerous.  Hoped they'd finish the job, did you?"

"It's not my fault, it's this house!"  Sneed cried.  "It always had a reputation.  Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back. And then the stiffs, er, dearly departed," he corrected quickly, seeing Dickens' offended look, "started getting restless."

"Tommyrot," Dickens said derisively.

"You witnessed it! Can't keep the beggars down, sir! They walk. And it's the queerest thing that they hang on to scraps..."

Rose watched as Gwyneth gave the Doctor his two sugar tea, studying her.  She brought her gaze up to the Doctor to see him watching the maid curiously as she walked away, his mind already working furiously. 

She had to find a way to keep this from happening again.

"One old fella who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service," Sneed was saying.  "Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir! Just as she planned."

"Morbid fancy," Dickens scoffed.

"Oh, Charles, you were there," the Doctor cried, irritated.

"I saw nothing but an illusion," the author insisted, and the Doctor scoffed.

"If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time," the Doctor told him.  "Just shut up.  What about the gas?" he asked Sneed, ignoring Dickens' stunned expression.

"That's new, sir," Sneed said.  "Never seen anything like that."

"Means it's getting stronger," he said thoughtfully.  "The rift's getting wider and something's sneaking through."

"And what kind of rift is this?" Dickens' asked, his curiosity overpowering his pride for the moment.

"A weak point in time and space," The Doctor replied.  "The connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time."

"That's how I got the house so cheap," Sneed marveled.  "Stories going back generations," he continued.  "Echoes in the dark. Queer songs in the air and this feeling like a...shadow. Passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine."

The Doctor and Rose exchanged a grin.

"Forgive me, sir, but how can we fix this?" Gwyneth asked after a moment.  "How can we stop it from happening?"

The Doctor just looked away and shook his head.  He didn't have any answers for her.

oOoOo

Rose followed Gwyneth into the kitchen, picking up a dry towel to help the girl with the dishes.

"Please, Miss!" Gwyneth cried.  "You shouldn't be helping! It's not right!"

"Don't be daft," Rose told her.  "No stranger to dishes, me.  And you deserve a little rest.  Sneed is a bully…he can't be a great boss."

"Ah, now that's not fair," Gwyneth said, tugging the cloth out of Rose's hand, who finally gave it up reluctantly.  "He's not so bad, old Sneed. Gives me eight pound a year, miss, and that's on top of taking me in after I lost my mum and dad to the flu."

"I'm sorry about your parents," Rose said after a moment.  "I lost my dad when I was a baby."

"But you found him again," Gwyneth said with a smile.  "In another world.  Me, I'll see my parents again in Paradise.  They're waiting there for me."

Rose stared at her.  This wasn't the conversation that she'd had last time.  Not quite.  Gwyneth was seeing pieces of her altered past.

"You're lucky to have the Doctor," Gwyneth continued after a moment.  "He seems like such a nice man, and clearly cares about you a great deal."

"Yeah," Rose said distractedly, still studying the girl.  Then she shook herself.  "Yeah," she said again.  "He is wonderful.  I love travelling with him."

"And you've travelled so far," Gwyneth said quietly.  "Further than anyone."

"What makes you say that?"

"You're from London. I've seen London in drawings, but never like that," she turned and looked intently at Rose.  "All those people rushing about. Half naked, for shame. And the noise...and the metal boxes racing past...and the birds in the sky...they're metal as well. Metal birds with people in them. People flying. And you - you've flown so far, across the dead space into a world trying to wipe you away, cut off from the one who makes you whole.  The things you've seen…the things you've done…to stop it all.  To save so many, to stop three hearts from breaking, to keep from fading away into the darkness…the Big Bad Wolf—" she stopped suddenly, staggering backwards.  "I'm sorry!" she cried, tears in her eyes.  "I'm so sorry, miss!"

"It's...it's alright, Gwyneth," Rose stammered, trying to reassure her.  She knew that Gwyneth wasn't really apologizing for entering her mind this time…this time, she was expressing sorrow and pity because of what she'd seen.  "You didn't mean to," deliberately changing the focus of the conversation.

"I can't help it," she said after a moment, understanding Rose's need to redirect.  "Ever since I was a little girl. My mum said I had the sight. She told me to hide it!"

"But it's getting stronger," said the Doctor from the doorway, making both girls jump.  "More powerful, is that right?"

"All the time, sir. Every night. Voices in my head."

"You grew up on top of the rift.  You're part of it," the Doctor explained.  "You're the key."

"I've tried to make sense of it, sir," Gwyneth told him.  "Consulted with spiritualists, table wrappers, all sorts."

"Well, that should help. You can show us what to do."

"What to do where, sir?" she asked him, confused.

"No," Rose said before he could speak.  "We are _not_ doing a séance.  No."

"Yep!" he cried happily.  "That's exactly what we're going to do.  And Gwyneth here is going to lead it."

"Are you sure that's the best plan?" she asked.

"How else do you get answers from ghosts?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.  "Come on," he added, pulling at her wrist to get her moving while gesturing to Gwyneth to lead the way.

"She was born here, raised here," he said quietly to Rose as they followed the maid.  "Absorbed the rift energy every day of her life, magnifying whatever low level telepathy she already had into full blown psychic.  Isn't that fantastic?"

"Are you sure this is going to be safe for her, though?"

"Oh, yeah.  No harm just in talking."  He cut a look at her.  "Out of curiosity…do you know what she was talking about in there?  The bit about fading into darkness and the big bad wolf?"

"No idea," she said airily.  "She's psychic, right?  Maybe something in the future."

He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before nodding.  "Yeah, maybe," he agreed.  Then he put and arm around her shoulders, squeezing her close.  "Don't worry, Red…no big bad wolves are getting past me."

oOoOo

"This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists. Down in Mid Town," Gwyneth was saying as they sat around the table.  "Come. We must all join hands."

"I can't take part in this," Dickens said, standing up.

"Humbug?" the Doctor questioned him.  "Come on, open mind."

"This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I try to un-mask," Dickens declared roughly. "Séances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing."  An uncertain look passed over Gwyneth's face, and she shrank into herself.

"Rude," Rose muttered, then shot a quick glance at the Doctor, thinking suddenly of the man he would be.  Mind you, he could be quite rude in this body too.

"Yes, don't antagonize her," the Doctor put in.  "I love a happy medium."

"Oh my god," Rose groaned, then laughed when she saw him smiling at his own joke.

"Come on, we might need you," he told Dickens, who sat down grudgingly.  "Good man. Now, Gwyneth. Reach out."

"Speak to us," Gwyneth called awkwardly after a moment, eyes up to the heavens.  "Are you there? Spirits?"  Rose saw Dickens roll his eyes, and she gave him a small kick under the table accompanied by a look that clearly said "behave."  "Come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden."  Soft whispers began to fill the room.

"They're he-ere," Rose singsonged under her breath.

"Nothing can happen," Dickens insisted stubbornly.  "This is sheer folly."

"Mister Dickens, look at her," Rose said, nodding at Gwyneth, who was now surrounded by swirling blue gas.  "That's not nothing."

"I feel them. I feel them!" Gwyneth cried, closing her eyes.

"What is that?" Sneed wondered as the whispers grew louder.  "What are they saying?"

"They can't get through the rift," the Doctor said, watching the gas.  He turned and leaned in to the maid.  "Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Now look deep. Allow them through."

"I can't!"

"Yes you can," the Doctor assured her calmly.  "Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth. Make the link."

Her face screwed up in pain for a moment, then cleared as she looked forward and opened her eyes.

"Yes," she whispered.

There was a flash of light, and then three figures materialized around Gwyneth, the tallest directly behind her.  Dickens and Sneed both recoiled in shock.

"Great God," Sneed cried.  "Sprits from the other side!"

"The other side of the universe," the Doctor corrected quietly, his eyes trained on the figures.

"Pity us," said Gwyneth, whose voice was reverberated in a high, sad tone. The voice of the Gelth.  "Pity the Gelth. There is so little time, help us."

"What do you want us to do?" the Doctor asked them.

"The rift," the voice said.  "Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge."

"What for?"

"We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction."  Rose made an irritated noise.  The other three glanced at her and she looked down quickly.

"Why, what happened?" the Doctor asked, turning back to Gwyneth.

"Once we had a physical form like you," the voice told him.  "But then the war came."

"War?" Dickens asked curiously.  "What war?"

"The Time War."  Rose exchanged a glance with the Doctor.  This, she knew, was part of the reason he would become adamant that they aid the Gelth.  He tended to believe that blame for the Time War rested entirely on his shoulders.

"The whole universe convulsed," the Gelth continued.  "The Time War raged, invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state."

"So that's why you need the corpses," the Doctor commented.

"We want to stand tall," sighed the voice of the Gelth.  Rose's eyes narrowed.  "To feel the sunlight. To live again. We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They're going to waste, give them to us!"

"No," Rose cut in firmly, eyes on the tallest figure as it whipped around to look at her.

"Why not?" the Doctor asked, surprised at her coldness.

"Because I don't trust them," she told him.  "If all they wanted were a few bodies to bang around in, why'd they try to kill me?  There's more here that they're not saying."

"Killing was not our intention," the Gelth said quickly.  The Doctor looked from one to the other, guilt and logic warring within him.  "Open the rift. Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth!"

With those last words, the figures disappeared into the lamps.  Gwyneth collapsed on the table.  Rose jumped up and moved to her side.  She called her name, and, getting no response, tried to move her.

"Let me," a voice said softly.  Rose moved aside as the Doctor gently lifted Gwyneth and moved her to the couch.  Rose found a flannel and doused it in cool water before placing it on Gwyneth's head.

The Doctor stood back, studying the unconscious girl thoughtfully.  Rose gave him a look, silently warning him against trying start a discussion before Gwyneth woke up.  He nodded and stepped away.  Rose turned back to Gwyneth, vowing to herself that she would not allow her to be hurt again.


	8. The Unquiet Dead Part 2

The room remained quiet while Gwyneth slept, but Rose was at her side immediately when she began to stir.

"Shh, it's alright," she said quietly to the girl.  "You're alright.  It's over."

"But my angels, miss," Gwyneth said faintly, grasping Rose's hands.  "They came, didn't they? They need me?"

"They do need you, Gwyneth," the Doctor said from his place at the doorway.  "You're they're only chance of survival."

"Stop it," Rose hissed.  "This isn't her fight, and those things aren't our friends.  Leave her be."  She turned away as he sighed, helping Gwyneth with a glass of water.

"Well, what did you say, Doctor?" Sneed probed.  "Explain it again. What are they?"

"Aliens," the Doctor answered simply.

"Like…foreigners, you mean?"

"Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there," he said, pointing upwards.

"Brecon?" Sneed asked, his face a picture of confusion.

"Close," the Doctor said, pushing off the wall.  Rose glanced at him and shook her head. "They've been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road's blocked. Only a few can get through and even then they're weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes."

"Which is why they need the girl," Dickens piped in, swaying a little as he turned.

"They're not having her," Rose said quickly.  "I'm not having her risking her life for some…demons…whose only proof that they're not here to harm us is _their_ word."

"But she can help," the Doctor said, trying to make her understand even while she was pushing for the same.  "Living on the rift, she's become part of it, she can open it up, make a bridge and let them through."

"And risk her life?"

"She wouldn't be risking her life!" the Doctor cried.  "You're overdramatizing all of this."

"Really?  You sure?  You're positive that she'll survive being a conduit for who knows how many alien life forces pouring through her mind?"  The Doctor looked away, shaking his head and letting out a forceful breath. "You're sure enough that you would wager a young woman's life?"

"Incredible," Dickens slurred.  "Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world who can only exist in our world by inhabiting cadavers."

"Good system. It might work," the Doctor said.

"It's a terrible system and it _won't_ work," Rose said, standing up and facing the Doctor.

"Why not? It's like recycling."

"Seriously though, you _can't_!"

"Seriously though, I _can_!"

They stared each other down for a moment, then Rose took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

"Think about what you're asking here," Rose implored him.  "You're asking a young girl, with no real understanding of her own abilities, much less the implications of them, to rip open a crack in time and space, in order to become a pathway for dangerous beings from god knows where to enter our world."

"I can close the rift behind them.  It's only growing because they're trying to push through.  Why are you so convinced they're dangerous?"

"Why are you so convinced they're not?" she shouted at him.  "Mister Sneed, how did Mister Redpath die?"

"Oh, uh...well, Missus Redpath, miss."

"Before or after she died?"

"After, miss."

The Doctor's brows shot up as Rose threw up her hands in the universal gesture of "I told you so."

Then the Doctor shook his head.  "Time is running out for them," he insisted.  "They're getting desperate."

"That makes it alright, does it?  God, why won't you just stop and _listen_?  What happens when they run out of corpses, eh?  No, this can't happen.  You can't put everyone in danger like this."

"Don't I get a say, miss?" Gwyneth broke in.

"You don't understand, Gwyneth," Rose said, trying to be gentle.

"I know you're scared, miss.  I can see it in your mind.  You're scared for me, and you're scared that my angels will hurt people.  But I can't just ignore them, they need me.  Here and now, I know my own mind.  Doctor, what do I have to do?"

"You don't _have_ to do anything," the Doctor said, glancing at Rose, showing her that Gwyneth had a choice, he wasn't going to force her to do anything she was strongly opposed to.

"They've been singing to me since I was a child. Sent by my mum on a holy mission. So tell me."

"Gwyneth, please," Rose begged.  "Don't do this."

"I've made up my mind.  Doctor?"

"We need to find the rift," he said, smiling at her.  "This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that's weaker than any other. Mr. Sneed. What's the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?"

"That would be the Morgue," Sneed informed him.

"Of course it is," Rose said gloomily.

oOoOo

They made their way to the basement, Rose trailing behind the group, hugging her arms around herself.  The TARDIS and Boe had both told her that not everyone could be saved, but she still felt like a failure.  She had argued with him again, worse this time, but circling around each other in the same way.  She couldn't make him see, his guilt and his pride were too big a hindrance.  The only proof she had was in her own memories, and she couldn't tell him that.

"Rose," the Doctor said, slowing his pace to match hers.  She didn't look up.  "Rose, I'm sorry I yelled at you.  But you have to understand that I wouldn't suggest this if I thought harm would come to her."

Rose shook her head.  "What we _think_ and what _is_ don't always match up, Doctor," she said sadly.

The Doctor frowned.  "She grew up around them.  Why would they harm her now?"

Rose shrugged.  "Why would they have harmed her before she understood what she could do for them?"  The Doctor opened his mouth, but closed it again when no words came out.  "I just don't know if their intent is as noble and altruistic as they claim."

"All they want is a chance to live, Rose," the Doctor insisted.

"At what cost?"

The Doctor sighed.  They were obviously too set in their own perceptions of the situation to reach any kind of understanding, so he let the subject drop.

oOoOo

"Talk about Bleak House," the Doctor commented as they entered the morgue.

"Gwyneth, you don't have to do this," Rose appealed to her, trying to make her understand before it was too late.

"Rose," the Doctor said in a warning tone.  "They need my help.  It's my fault they're like this."

"The Time War isn't your fault."

"I was the one to stop it," he said darkly.  "Any consequences of it are mine to repair."

"Doctor," Dickens called.  "I think the room is getting colder."

"Here they come," Rose muttered.

A few of the gaseous beings came into existence and danced around them.  "You have come to help!" cried the voice of the Gelth.  "Praise the Doctor! Praise him!"

"Promise you won't hurt her!" Rose yelled up at them.

"Hurry! Please," the voice said, ignoring her.  "So little time. Pity the Gelth."

"I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer," the Doctor told them. Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, alright?"

"My angels," Gwyneth sighed, enraptured.  "I can help them live."

"Okay, where's the weak point?" the Doctor asked the Gelth.

"Here, beneath the arch."

Gwyneth moved toward the arch, but Rose took her hand, holding her at bay.  "You don't have to do this," she told the girl again, needing to try one last time.

"My angels," Gwyneth said simply, unmoved.  She stood beneath the arch.

 _I think she was dead from the minute she stood in that arch_ , the Doctor had said.  Rose walked over slowly, taking Gwyneth's hand again.

"I'm sorry," she said, tears spilling down her cheeks.  "I'm so sorry."

"You cannot save everyone, child," Gwyneth said softly, putting her hand on Rose's cheek.  "Keep faith."

"Establish the bridge, reach out of the void, let us through!" cried the Gelth.

"Yes. I can see you!" Gwyneth exclaimed.  "I can see you! Come!"

"Bridgehead establishing."

"Come! Come to me! Come to this world, poor lost souls!"

"It is begun! The bridge is made!" cried the Gelth.  Gwyneth's mouth opened, and beings began to flow out of it.  "She has given herself to the Gelth!"

"There's rather a lot of them, eh?" Dickens noted with a gasp.

"The bridge is open. We descend."  Suddenly, the figure changed, growing in size and changing from ethereal blue to demonic flame.  "The Gelth will come through in force," it growled.

"You said that you were few in number!" Dickens cried.

"A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses."  Bodies started rising around the morgue as the Gelth took over.

"Gwyneth…stop this!" Sneed shouted.  "Listen to your master! This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, leave these things alone. I beg of you—“  His words cut off as a body possessed by the Gelth grabbed him from behind.

"Mr. Sneed! Get back!" she yelled, just as the Doctor took hold of her waist and pulled her away.  She watched in horror as Sneed's neck was snapped and a Gelth sped into his still warm corpse.

"Rose, you may have been right," the Doctor said in a low voice.  "I think it's gone a little bit wrong."

"Oh, do you think?" she asked sharply.

"I have joined the legions of the Gelth," Sneed said as he approached them, eyes cold and dead.  "Come. March with us."

"No!" Dickens cried, backing away.

"We need bodies," the Gelth said as the corpses advanced.  "All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead."  The Doctor pulled Rose with him against the dungeon door.

"Gwyneth," he called, "stop them! Send them back! Now!"

"Three more bodies," said the demonic figure.  "Make them vessels for the Gelth."

"I—I can't! I'm sorry!" Dickens cried as he bolted up the stairs.  "It's too much for me! I'm so—"

The Doctor glanced at him, and caught sight of the door.  He pushed Rose in and slammed it shut, the Gelth trapped outside, reaching in.

"Give yourself to glory," the Gelth ordered.  "Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth."

"I trusted you,” he said.  “I pitied you!"

"We don't want your pity! We want this world and all its flesh."

"Not while I'm alive," he vowed darkly.

"Then live no more."

"That's original," Rose snorted.  She glanced around at the walls, following the pipes to gas taps.  With any luck, Dickens would be back down with the same plan as before.  She could get a jump on it now.  She spun the tap closest to her until it was fully open.  "I'm not dying here."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said, watching the Gelth, not noticing her movements.  "It's all my fault. I brought you here."

"It's not your fault," Rose assured him quickly, opening another tap.

"I should have listened to you," he said.  "You were right all along.  I shouldn't have let her—“

"Stop it," she cut him off.  He stopped and stared at her.  She let out a cough before continuing.  "They played on your sympathy and guilt.  You wanted to help them, and they used that to trick you.  That doesn't mean they get to win.  Not without a fight, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Together?"

"Yeah!"  She laced her fingers through his, and he squeezed.  "I'm so glad I met you," he told her, smiling down at her.

"Me too," she said, grinning up at him.  Then she let out another cough, and swayed against him.

He looked at her in concern, then sniffed the air.  "What is that?  Gas?"

"Doctor!"  Dickens yelled as he burst back into the room.  "Turn _off_ the flame, turn _up_ the gas! Now fill the room, all of it, now!"

"Brilliant," he cried, as the spirits not possessing bodies began to scream.  "Gas!"   Rose coughed heavily and he paused, pieces clicking into place.  " _How long have you been breathing this in_?" he demanded, horrified.  She shook her head.

"Am I correct, Doctor?" Dickens called.  "These creatures are gaseous!"

 "Fill the room with gas, it'll draw them out of the host. Suck them into the air like poison from a wound!"

"I hope... oh, Lord..."  He paused as the corpses turned and set their sights on him.  "I hope that this theory will be validated soon.  If not immediately."

"Plenty more!" the Doctor yelled, pulling at a pipe and knocking it out of the wall.  The Gelth screamed and released the bodies, sucked into the gas.

The Doctor pulled Rose out of the dungeon room quickly and leaned down to look at her.  She tried to focus on him, lids heavy.  "Rose, stay with me, c'mon," he whispered as she slumped against him.  "Charles, get her out of here, now!" he bellowed.  "I have to stop this."

She heard Dickens say something, but it was unintelligible as she lost consciousness.

oOoOo

"Rose?  Rose!  Wake up!  Come on, Rose—"

Rose moaned and shifted, bringing a hand up to her aching head.  She was dizzy, sore everywhere, and extremely cold.  "Doctor?"

"Rose!  You're alright!"  She was gathered up in his arms, breathing in the scent of leather.  "Do me a favor, next time you have a brilliant but life threatening plan, give me some warning, eh?"

"Will do," she said weakly.  After a moment, he helped her to her feet, keeping a firm hold on her.  She looked up at him, then her gaze shifted over his shoulder at the burning house behind him.  "Gwyneth," she murmured.

"Rose," he said, looking down into her eyes, "I'm sorry, I couldn't save her.  She was already dead.  She closed the rift."

"I know," she said softly, closing her eyes.  "She saved the world. A servant girl. And no one will ever know."

"We will.  And we'll never forget," he promised her, putting a hand to her cheek.

oOoOo

"Right then, Charlie-boy," the Doctor said as they approached the TARDIS.  "I've just got to go into my um... shed. Won't be long!"

"Have you got family for Christmas, Mister Dickens?" Rose asked him

"Not just now, but I will.  I shall take the mail coach back to London. Quite literally post-haste. This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I've learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital."

"You've cheered up!" the Doctor noted.

"Exceedingly! This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world and now I know I've just started! All these huge and wonderful notions, Doctor! I'm inspired. I must write about them!"

"Upgrading your ghost stories to aliens?" Rose asked.

"I shall be subtle at first. The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle. Perhaps he was not of this earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the word! Tell the truth!"

"Good luck with it. Nice to meet you," the Doctor said, shaking Dickens' hand.  "Fantastic."

"Bye, then, Charlie. And, thanks," she told him sincerely.  "It really has been a pleasure."  She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, my dear," he stammered, taken aback.  "how modern. Thank you, but, I don't understand—in what way is this goodbye? Where are you going?"

"You'll see. In the shed," the Doctor said, turning to the TARDIS and opening the door.

"Oh, my soul," Dickens said.  “Doctor, it's one riddle after another with you. But after all these revelations, there's one mystery you still haven't explained. Answer me this:  who are you?"

"Just a friend," the Doctor said after a moment.  "Passing through."

"But you have such knowledge of future times," Dickens said.  "I don't wish to impose on you, but I must ask you.  My books, Doctor…do they last?"

"Oh, yes!"

"For how long?"

"Forever!"

Dickens smiled proudly.

"Right. Shed. Come on, Rose."

"In - in the box?" Dickens stammered as they both turned to go.  "Both of you?"

"Down boy," the Doctor growled.  "See ya!"

"He's never going to tell the story, though, is he?" Rose said as they walked up to the console.  "He dies, what, next year?"

"Yeah," the Doctor said, bringing up an external view on the camera.  "In a week's time, it's 1870.  The year he dies."

"But you...you brought him back to life," Rose said, watching the man outside.  "Look how much happier he is."

"Wasn't just me," the Doctor said, looking down at her.  "But you're right.  He's more alive now than he's ever been, old Charlie-boy. Let's give him one last surprise."

He hit a button and the engines wheezed.  They watched as his face slackened in astonishment, laughing.

"Oh, Doctor," Rose said, quickly.  "Happy Christmas."

His head whipped around, and he stared at her for a moment before breaking into a grin.  "Happy Christmas, Rose Tyler."


	9. Bad Dreams

The Doctor let out a loud curse as the fluid links he was attempting to tighten suddenly sparked, burning his fingers.

“Fine!” he shouted at the stubborn ship.  “You wanna be like that, fine!  See if I try to fix you anymore!”

The TARDIS groaned around him, adding an irritated buzz in his mind for emphasis, but he only rolled his eyes as he shoved his sonic screwdriver back into the pocket of his leather jacket before stalking out of the console room.

He knew why the ship was annoyed; she tended to get tetchy when he started making too many unnecessary repairs, and wasn’t about to let him use her as a distraction.  But as he prowled the halls, he only grew more cross as the thoughts he was trying to avoid came rushing to the front of his mind again.

He was the Doctor, the very last of the Time Lords, with a mind the size of a planet and lightning fast thoughts.  He was one of the most powerful beings in the universe.  He remembered everything, saw everything, _knew_ everything there was to know about the universe and how it worked—

But the nineteen year old girl had seen what he hadn’t.  And she’d fought with him to just stop and listen.  And then, when his ego and latent guilt had been louder than his sense, when he’d belittled her and tried to put her in her place, when he’d told her she was wrong because he didn’t want to think she was right…she still stayed.  She risked everything to stay there in that stupid dungeon with him, choked herself to try to save them…

And she’d been so still when he’d found her outside, laying in the snow.  She’d felt so small and fragile in his arms when everything in him urged her to wake up.

He’d wanted to save someone, something.  He’d wanted the devastation to be a little less complete.  And he’d almost lost her because of it, before he’d even really had a chance to know her, to show her anything.

And he was angry…as usual.  He was angry that she was right, that she’d seen what he didn’t.  He was angry that he didn’t listen.  He was angry that he’d been a part of the violence that had given the Gelth an excuse, and angry that he’d been forced to do things that left him with enough guilt to be manipulated by them.  And he was angry that even though he’d almost gotten her killed, even though she’d seen evidence of the cost of his actions, she hadn’t immediately told him she wanted to go home.

She was the only one who could see the Gelth for the monsters they were, but she still hadn’t noticed the monster in him.

So he was angry…because he wanted her to be right again, even though he knew she was wrong.

He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, then turned a corner sharply and headed to the kitchen.  Tea and a banana, that’s what he needed.  Then maybe the TARDIS would let him work on her again.

He froze when he walked into the kitchen and saw Rose, swallowing back his wayward thoughts and burying the inconvenient emotions before stepping fully into the room.

“What are you doing up?” he asked lightly.  “I thought you’d be deadon your feet.”

Rose smiled a little from where she sat at the table, hands curled around a mug of tea.  “Yeah, couldn’t sleep.  Kettle’s still hot, though.”

“Fantastic,” he said in genuine pleasure, fixing himself a cup of tea before turning to her and studying her.  She still looked exhausted.  She had faint circles around her eyes, and just a little bit of puffiness that suggested that she _had_ slept, but not for long.  He knew those signs all too well.  “Bad dreams?”

“That obvious?” she asked, cutting a look at him and giving another small smile.  “What about you?  What are you doing up?”

“Time Lord,” he told her.  “Superior physiology.  One particular benefit being that I don’t have to sleep much.”  He paused, considering her.  “Was it about Cardiff?  The Gelth?”

“No,” she replied, looking away.  He waited, but didn’t offer up anything else, instead seeming intent to unlock the meaning of life in her cuppa.

“I am sorry about that, Rose,” he said after a moment, looking down at his own tea.  “What happened in Cardiff.  I should have listened to you.  I let them manipulate me…because I wanted to save someone from the war.  Suppose you could call it survivor’s guilt.”

“But why, though?”  He looked up at her.  “I mean, you didn’t start the Time War, right?  Why feel guilty about every casualty?”

He sighed heavily, the forthright way she had of asking him things making the constant anger ebb away a little, and leaving nothing but exhaustion behind.  He dropped into the seat across from her at the table, clutching his mug. 

“You’re right, I didn’t start it.  But I didn’t prevent it, either.  I ignored the signs.  I hadn’t even been home in…a long time.  Bit of a rebel, me.”  Rose chuckled a little at that.  “I told you before I never quite fit in.  But then came the war.  The Last Great Time War, a war between two superior species…and if either of them won, the whole universe would have lost.”

“I thought you said the Time Lords lost the war,” she said, looking at him curiously.

“They did.  But so did their enemies,” he said, staring into space as he remembered.  “Everyone lost.  The War turned to hell.  The Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-have-been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres.”  He shook himself.  “So I ended it.  Outside of all of it, I ended it.  Killed everyone.  Burned my friends and my enemies alike.  Now everything is gone.”

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, reaching across the table and touching the back of one of his hands.  He looked at her hand, then up into her eyes.  He saw none of the judgment he expected.  It wasn’t even pity.  It was just sadness and sympathy and understanding that she should not have been capable of.  For a moment, he wanted to turn his hand and grasp hers and hold on with everything he was worth, just to keep him tethered to the person who was willing to understand.

But she didn’t understand.  She couldn’t.  If she’d really been listening, she would have been running the other direction, the way she probably should.  He leaned back with his mug, out of her reach.  She watched him for another moment before clearing her throat and pulling her hand back.

“Hold on, but you have a _time machine_ ,” she said.  “Can’t you just go back?  Visit it before all of that?”

He shook his head.  “The whole thing is time-locked.  No one in, no one out, in any when.”

“That’d make it difficult, then, yeah,” she admitted.  She was quiet for a moment, swirling around the contents of her mug.  “So is that what your bad dreams are about, Doctor?” she asked finally.

“Oh, after 900 years, I have a lot of things to have bad dreams about,” he said with a bitter smile.  “Thank goodness I don’t have to sleep as much as you.  Even aside from how much I’d hate wasting half my life in bed.”

“Nine hundred years?” she asked.  “Seriously?  You’re nine _hundred_ years old?”

“Yeah,” he said, his grin softening into something real, if rusty.

She turned away, looking into the middle distance.  “That…is one hell of an age gap,” she said with a laugh.

“Yeah, suppose it is,” he agreed.  He paused, watching her.  “So what was your dream about?”

“Doesn’t matter,” she said dismissively.  “It was just a dream, right?”  She stood up and put her mug in the sink.  “Think I’m ready to give sleep another go.  Oh, but I wanted to ask…do you think we could drop in on my mum sometime?  I mean, she should at least know that I’m gonna be gone a while, and after the last few days…”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding.  “Get some sleep, and then I’ll bring us back to your present day London so you can pop in on her.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” she said.  “For everything.”

He nodded and waved at her as she wandered off to her room.  He sat for another minute with his tea, thinking back on the conversation and the girl.  He’d told her more than he meant to about the War, about the destruction he’d wrought…and she’d responded with sympathy.  And as wrong as she might be to do that, the fires he held inside, the ones that had been burning him alive for so long, were banked ever so slightly by it.

“Sleep well, Rose Tyler,” he said softly in the empty room.  “Sweet dreams.”


	10. Aliens of London Part 1

Rose stepped out of the TARDIS and breathed in deep.  She was back.  Back in her world.  The real world.  The one where she was meant to exist, meant to meet the Doctor and see the stars.

She glanced over as said Doctor followed her out, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms.

"How long have I been gone?" Rose asked him.

"About 12 hours," he informed her.

Rose raised an eyebrow.  "You sure?"

"Course I'm sure," he told her with a frown.

"Only, we were supposed to be in 1860 Naples, right?" she asked with a grin.  "Missed that by just a bit..."

"Oi!"

She laughed at his offended look, which immediately softened as he chuckled.

"Right, I won't be long," she told him.  "I'm just gonna see my mum.  Make sure she doesn't start canvassing the neighborhood."

"What're you going to tell her?"

"I dunno," she said thoughtfully.  "I think the end of the world and Christmas 1869 would be a _bit_ out of her comfort zone."  She grinned when the Doctor snorted.  "I'll just tell her I've been with a mate.  See you soon.  Don't you disappear," she added over her shoulder.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he said softly as she walked away.

"I'm back!" she called as she entered the flat.  "I know it's been a while.  I guess Mickey would have explained ages ago.  Just been with a mate."  She stopped when she saw Jackie standing in the doorway looked shocked.  "Mum?  You alright?"

Jackie dropped her mug, reaching her hands out to Rose.  "It's you," she said shakily.  Rose watched warily as tears formed in Jackie's eyes.  "It's really you.  Oh my god."  She took Rose in her arms and Rose glanced around the flat, seeing the stack of "Where is Rose?" posters on the table.

"Not again," she moaned weakly.

The Doctor chose that moment to burst into the flat.  "It's not 12 hours," he said quickly.  "It's er... 12 months. You've been gone a whole year."  He looked between the women as they turned to stare at him.  "Sorry."

oOoOo

Jackie phoned the police and went to get dressed, leaving them with a warning of impending violence if they left again.  Rose withdrew to an armchair, where she was currently curled up and gazing out the window as she chewed her nail.

The Doctor paced a little and glanced at her.  She was never going to come with him again now.  By rights, she should hate him.  But if by some chance she didn’t, if she could actually manage to forgive him, she was never going to risk leaving again.  Inexplicably, this thought made him intensely unhappy.  A few days of her presence had helped drown out the screams of ghosts, and it bothered him that he had now let her down so badly that he would lose that.

"Rose, I really am sorry," the he said quietly.  "I really did mean to have you back in twelve hours."

"No, I know," she told him.  "It was an accident.  I just thought I had this covered is all."

The Doctor gaped at her.  "How could you possibly have covered _this_?"  She only shrugged non-commitally as someone knocked on the door.  A policeman entered, and the Doctor retreated behind Rose while she was interviewed, Jackie raging sporadically.

"Why won't you tell me where you've been?" Jackie yelled, and the Doctor decided it was time for him to intervene.

"Actually, it's my fault," he told them, stepping forward.  "I sort of employed Rose as my companion."

"When you say 'companion'," the policemen said, holding up his notebook, "is this a sexual relationship?"

"No!" the Doctor and Rose both said at once.

"Then what is it?" Jackie demanded.  "Because you, you waltz in here all charms and smiles, and the next thing I know, she vanishes off the face of the earth! How old are you then? 40? 45? What, you find her on the Internet? Did you go online and pretend you're a doctor?"

"I _am_ a Doctor!"

"Prove it! Stitch this, mate," Jackie spat and slapped him hard.

"Mum!" Rose cried, jumping up as the Doctor recoiled, his face burning.  "Stop it!  It's not his fault!"

"Then tell me whose fault it is!" Jackie shouted back, unapologetic.

"Why don't you wait outside a minute, Doctor," Rose suggested as mother and daughter exchanged steely glares.  He glanced between them, then nodded and retreated to relative safety of "anywhere Jackie Tyler wasn't" to wait for the inevitable.

oOoOo

"Did you think about me at all?" Jackie asked after some of her anger dissipated.

"Of course I did! All the time!" Rose assured her.  "But you shouldn't have done this.  Didn’t Mickey tell you—"

"Oh, Mickey," Jackie scoffed.  "One phone call," she continued without pause.  "Just to know you were alive."

"I'm sorry," Rose said for the umpteenth time.  "I really am."

"Do you know what terrifies me, is that you still can't say," Jackie told her seriously.  "What happened to you, Rose? What could be so bad that you can't tell me, sweetheart? Where _were_ you?"

Rose looked at her.  She knew full well that very soon, the idea of aliens would come crashing down on planet earth, and Jackie Tyler would have to face some very hard realizations.  By the time she left again, her mum would know, at least to some degree, what she was doing out in the universe with the Doctor.

"Alright, here's the thing," Rose said after a deep breath.  "The Doctor...he's not just anyone.  He's one of the most important people in the whole universe.  He travels all over, between planets and galaxies, to different times and places where people need him.  And he helps them, all of them.  He puts a stop to things that should never happen, and brings about the things that should.  Without him, the whole universe would have been toast, a few times now."

Jackie stared at her daughter.  "What're you going on about?  You make him sound like some sort of alien."

"Yeah.  He's an alien from another world, with a ship that can travel to any point in time and space."

"You're barmy," Jackie said, backing up.

"But I'm not," she said.  "Cause I've seen it.  I've seen the end of the world and I spent Christmas in Cardiff in 1869.  All cause of him.  And I'm going back out there.  So you need to find some way to wrap your head around it, and soon.  I'm sorry, Mum, really I am, but this is my life now."

She waited for Jackie to reply, to say something.  "I'm going to find the Doctor," she said quietly when nothing proved forthcoming.  "I'll be back."

She found him on the roof leaning against a low wall with his arms crossed.  She hopped up to sit next to him.

"How's the face?" she asked, nudging his shoulder.

"Could be worse," he admitted.  He glanced at her then shook his head, rolling his eyes.  "Nine hundred years in time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother."

"First time for everything," she teased, laughing.  He shook his head again, but Rose saw his lips twitch.

"So what'd you tell her?"

Rose sighed.  "Let's just say I took her a bit out of her comfort zone."

"You didn't!"

"What else was I supposed to do?    He was still looking at her with a shocked expression.  "Doctor, it'll be fine.  Sooner or later."

"Rose, just knowing about me puts people in danger!" the Doctor cried.  "This is your mother!" 

"Yeah, and right now, she just thinks I'm loony!” she snapped back.  “But you know what, that's alright.  Cause a few days ago, I was a shop girl from the Estate with about the same long term prospects as a slab of clay, but now I'm travelling the universe and actually doing something useful with my life.  Sooner or later, she's going to understand that."  She stopped, breathing heavily.  He was studying her with a guarded expression.  She closed her eyes and willed herself to calm down.  "Besides," she said after a moment. "I can't have her calling the police every time I leave.  Couldn't have her slapping you every time I came to visit either," she added.

"Yeah, don't want to experience that again," he agreed, his face pensive.  "So...you're still coming with me?"

"Course I am.  Think I'd miss out on the whole of time and space?"

He studied her a moment longer, then broke out into a grin.  "Fantastic!"

"We still have to work on your driving skills, Doctor," Rose teased him as she hopped off the ledge.  "At least I know I didn't miss anything interesting."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because if there had been, you'd have been here already," she said, turning to him with a grin.

He grinned back, but then they both started as heard a horn blare.  They ducked as a spaceship sailed low over their heads, soaring over the city before careening into Big Ben and crashing into the Thames.

"See what I mean?" Rose said.  The Doctor laughed as he grabbed her hand, intent on taking off toward the crash.  "Hold on," she said, pulling him back.  "Slow down, tiger.  There's bound to be all sorts of authorities down there looking at this, yeah?  Whole city's going to be gridlocked.  We'll get stuck before we get anywhere near it."

The Doctor shuffled uncertainly, eager to investigate but seeing the truth in her words.  "Can't use the TARDIS.  Already a giant spaceship here, don't want to put another one right on top of it."

"Even if it does look like a blue box," she teased.  "C'mon then.  We'll just have to do whatever everyone else does."

"What's that?"

"We're gonna watch it on TV," she told him, leading the way back down to her mother's flat.

"This some of your lot?" Jackie demanded as they entered the flat.

The Doctor shot Rose an annoyed look.  "Never involve the mothers," he muttered darkly.  "No, Jackie, this is not some of my lot.  I don't know who they are, where they're from, or what they're doing here, apart from crashing, so don't ask me."

"Fat lot of good you are," Jackie snapped.  "What's the use of some planet hopping--"

" _Mum!"_

oOoOo

They watched the news reports intently all afternoon.  The country was in a panic over the spaceship and the body found inside, a situation made worse as it was revealed that the Prime Minister was missing.  The Doctor grew more and more agitated as people piled into the flat under the guise of watching the reports, but really as an excuse to throw a party.  Finally, he gave up and slipped out of the door.

"And where do you think you're going?" Rose demanded as she followed him out onto the balcony.

"Nowhere," he said, starting guiltily at the sound of her voice.  "It's just a bit human in there for me," he admitted with a shrug.  "History just happened and they're talking about where you can buy dodgy top up cards for half price. I'm off on a wander, that's all."

"Riiight," Rose said, drawing out the word.  "So you're not going to Albion Hospital to investigate an extraterrestrial body that was drug up from the Thames then?"

"Oh...well, when you put it like that..."

"It's okay, Doctor," she told him gently.  "It's what you do.  Fancy some company?"

He hesitated, unsure for a moment, then shook his head.  "Rose, if you really are coming with me, then you should spend some time with you mum now.  She's already a bit…touchy, and you'll miss her before long.  I'll be back before you know it.”

Rose chewed her lip and thought furiously.  She wanted to go with him, but knew it would be easier for him to sneak on his own, and her mum would probably call the police immediately if she vanished now.

"Promise you won't disappear?" she asked as he turned to go.  He stopped and turned back to her, feeling around his jacket pockets.

"Tell you what—TARDIS key," he said, handing it to her.  "About time you had one.  See you later!" he said with a grin as he turned away again.

She watched him go, and then looked down at the key in her hand.  She turned back into the flat and searched her room for a cheap necklace chain and threaded the key onto it.  She slipped it around her neck with shaking hands, sighing in relief as it settled into place.  Finally, she felt well and truly home.

 


	11. Aliens of London Part 2

Rose sat curled in an armchair watching the news reports in what was now a very crowded flat.  She glanced up and rolled her eyes as Jackie toasted to the Martians.  She couldn't help feeling that the Doctor had been right…sometimes, they really were just stupid apes.

She looked up again when she realized the room was silent, and saw Mickey standing in the doorway looking thunderstruck.

"Mickey!" she cried, jumping up.  "Listen, I'm so sorry."

"Someone else owes Mickey an apology," noted one of the guests, looking pointedly at Jackie.

"Oh, Mum, you didn't," Rose moaned.

"It's not my fault. Be fair," she said defensively.  "What was I supposed to think?"

Rose quickly followed Jackie into the kitchen.  Before she could say anything, though, Mickey started in on her.

"You disappear - who do they turn to? Your boyfriend!" he shouted.  "Five times, I was taken in for questioning. Five times. No evidence, of course there couldn't be, could there. And then I get her – your mother," he added, jabbing a finger at her.  "Whispering around the estate – pointing the finger – stuff through my letterbox – and all 'cause of you."

"I told you—“

"Oh, yeah, you told me,” he snapped.  “You break it off, slip in that you'll be back in a year, and swan off with the Doctor like it's nothing."

"Hold on, you knew about the Doctor?  About him being an alien?" Jackie asked, shocked.

"Mum!" Rose cried, quickly closing the doors to kitchen and reach through.  "You can't just go shouting that about to everyone!"

"You told her?" Mickey asked, incredulous.

"Well, yeah.  The whole 'travelling' thing didn't hold up so well."

"Doesn't matter," Mickey said with a sneer.  "Cause you're stuck here. The Doctor's gone. Just now, that box thing just faded away."

"He'll be back," she said calmly.

"He's left you. Some boyfriend HE turned out to be."

"He'll be back," she insisted.

"You're delusional."

"I'll prove it to you," she told him, grabbing her coat.  "Mum, stay here… _stay._ "

They made their way down the stairs and over to the place the TARDIS had been parked.  Mickey spun around, arms out, face triumphant.

"See?  What'd I tell ya?  Oh, he's dumped you, Rose," he said confidently.  "Sailed off into space. How does it feel, huh? Now you are left behind with the rest of us Earthlings. Get used to it."

"Just give it a minute," she told him.  "He'll be here."

"Fat chance of that," Mickey snorted.

"God, why can't you just—“  She stopped when she felt the key under her shirt grow warm.  She turned as the sound of the TARDIS engines filled the air.  "See that?  What did I say?"

Without waiting for a reply, she ran to the doors as the ship materialized, using her new key with fingers that shook just slightly.  She ran up the ramp to where the Doctor was examining a screen.

"I went and had a look, but the whole crash landing's a fake - I thought so, it's just too perfect. I mean, 'hitting Big Ben' come on, so I thought let's go and have a look—"

"Mickey's here," she cut in.

The Doctor looked at her, then over his shoulder at the door.

"Oh, that's JUST what I need," he snapped.  "Just keep your mother out of here.  Don't you dare make this place domestic!”

"You ruined my life, Doctor," Mickey said.  The Doctor spun around to face him.  "They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you."

"See what I mean? Domestic," he said to Rose before turning back to the computer screen.

"I bet you don't even remember my name!" Mickey cried, ignoring Rose's glare.

"Rickey," the Doctor said turning back to him.

"It's Mickey."

"No, it's Rickey."

"I think I know my own name."

"You THINK you know your own name? How stupid are you?"

" _Enough!"_ Rose shouted.  They both stopped and stared at her.  "Look, you two don't have to get along, but bickering like five year olds is getting us nowhere."  Mickey muttered something inaudible, and she shot him a glare.  The Doctor was grinning.  When she arched an eyebrow he chuckled.  "So, the spaceship..."

"Right!" he said, his Time Lord attention span switching gears immediately.  Rose rolled her eyes and leaned in to look at the monitor.  "The 'extraterrestrial' was a pig that was augmented by aliens.  It was staged."

"So aliens set up an alien hoax?  What for?" Rose asked him.

"Funny way to invade, putting the world on red alert," Mickey commented, peeking over the Doctor's shoulder.

"Good point!" the Doctor said, looking mildly impressed.  "So, what're they up to?"

oOoOo

"So, what're you doing down there?" Mickey asked the Doctor, who was under the grating, fiddling with the controls.

"Rickey," he mumbled around his sonic screwdriver.

"Mickey."

"Rickey," he said again, taking the screwdriver out of his mouth.  "If I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?"

"I suppose not..."

"Shut it, then," he ordered, putting the screwdriver back in his teeth and going back to his work.

"Some friend you've got," he said to Rose after shooting the Doctor another nasty look.

"God, the pair of you," Rose said tiredly.  "He's winding you up."  She sighed when he still looked upset.  "I really am sorry.  I did try to tell you."

"Yeah, but I still looked," he said.  "Every day, I looked. On every street corner, wherever I went, looking for a blue box for a whole year."

"I know," Rose said quietly.  "It's only been a few days for me, though.  Time travel is...wonky.  But I don't think it'll be so long next time."

"Next time?" he asked.  "So you're not staying?  You're going back out there?"

"I've got to,” she told him.  “There's just so much out there, you have no idea."

"Got it!" the Doctor shouted before Mickey had a chance to reply. "Haha!"  Rose gave Mickey another apologetic look, and moved to the other side of the console with the Doctor.  "Patched in the radar, looped it back twelve hours so we can follow the flight of the spaceship, here we go…hold on," he said, whacking the computer screen.  "Come on…That's the spaceship on its way to Earth," he explained as the graphic came up on the screen.  "See? Except…hold on…see, the spaceship did a sling shot round the Earth before it landed."

"So it came from Earth to begin with, yeah?" she asked.  "They haven't just arrived."

"Nope," the Doctor said, still looking at the screen.  "They've been here for a while. The question is, what have they been doing?"

He flipped a switch, and the graphic disappeared, replaced with the news report.  Mickey looked at it in surprise.

"How many channels do you get?" Mickey asked him.  Rose glanced at him and rolled her eyes.

"All the basic packages," the Doctor told him.

"You get sports channels?"

"Yes, I get the football," he said, a little mockingly.  Rose bit back a smile.  "Hold on," the Doctor said suddenly, straightening.  "I know that lot."

" _It is looking likely that the government is bringing in alien specialists – those people who have devoted their lives to studying outer space_ ," reported the newscaster.

"UNIT?" Rose guessed, studying the group.  The Doctor nodded.

"You've worked for them," Mickey said.  The Doctor looked at him is surprise.  "Yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the Internet, and in the history books, and there's his name. Followed by a list of the dead."

"That's nice," the Doctor responded, dripping with sarcasm.  "Good boy, Rickey."

"Bit melodramatic, don't you think?" Rose commented.  "Seriously?  A list of the dead?"

"If you know them, why don't you go and help?" Mickey asked, ignoring Rose.

"They wouldn't recognize me," the Doctor explained, springing into action once more.  "I've changed a lot since the old days. Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We want to keep this alien out of the mix. I'm going undercover…and eh, better keep the TARDIS out of site. Rickey! You've got a car – you can do some driving."

"Where to?" Mickey asked as they walked to the door.

"The roads are clearing," the Doctor told him.  "Let's go and have a look at that spaceship."

But as soon as they stepped outside, they were greeted by the loud roar of helicopter blades, blinded by spotlights, and ordered to stay still.

"Useless," Rose muttered as Mickey bolted, chased by a couple of uniformed men.  She glimpsed her mother to the side, yelling something unintelligible, and held off by two more soldiers.

"Raise your hands above your head!" blared the loudspeaker.  "You are under arrest!"

"Take me to your leader!" the Doctor shouted with a grin as he raised his hands.

Rose groaned.  Leave it to the Doctor to enforce a stereotype like that.  She knew from experience now that aliens _never_ said that…about half the time, they already were the leaders.

"This is a bit posh," Rose noted as she got into the police vehicle they'd been escorted to.  "What do you reckon, arrested or escorted?”

"Escorted, definitely," the Doctor said happily.

"Not Downing Street?" Rose asked with wide eyes.

"Yep," he told her happily.  "10 Downing Street.  The one and only.  It's like you said the other day. Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, uh…noticed."

"Now they need you?"

"Like it said on the news—they’re gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest expert of the lot?"  He grinned at her expectantly.

"Patrick Moore?" she teased.

"Apart from him," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes.

"Ah, don't you just love it..."

"I'm telling you, Lloyd George - he used to drink me under the table. Who's the Prime Minister now?"

"How should I know?" Rose asked.  "I missed a year."

As they pulled up to 10 Downing Street, they saw the multitude of police cars and paparazzi already stationed there.  The Doctor sprang out of the vehicle, waving and grinning at the cameras.

"Blimey," Rose breathed as she exited the vehicle more slowly.  "I thought being the Vitex Heiress was bad."

They were ushered into a room where other experts that Rose recognized from the newscast milled around.  She was surprised to realize that she recognized one or two by their parallel counterpart.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, could we convene?" called a harried looking man.  "Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right and can I remind you, ID cards are to be worn at all times.  Here's your ID card," the man said, approaching the Doctor.  "I'm sorry, your companion doesn't have clearance."

"I don't go anywhere without her," the Doctor informed him as he looped the ID card around his neck.  Rose couldn't help the warm feeling that bubbled up inside her at his words.

"You're the code nine, not her," the man said.

They argued for a moment, but Rose lost track of the conversation as she caught sight of Harriet Jones.  The would-be prime minister was still just a back bencher right now, but tonight would be her turning point.  Despite the uncomfortable tone they had last parted on, Rose was thrilled to see another familiar face from her old life.

"It's alright, you go," she said quietly to the Doctor as the other man was approached by Harriet Jones.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, they're the experts, you should hear what they've got to say," she told him.  "Just...be careful."  She chewed her lip for a second, then took a chance.  "Try to figure out what the aliens stand to gain by staging such an elaborate hoax."

The Doctor frowned.  "Good point.  I'll be out in no time.  Don't get into any trouble."

"I'm going to have to leave you with security," the harried man said, starting to lead Rose away.

"It's alright," Harriet said.  "I'll look after her. Let me be of some use."  She turned to Rose, smiling kindly.  "Walk with me," she said, and steered her towards the door.  "Just keep walking...That's right... don't look round! Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North," she added, flashing her ID card.

"This friend of yours... he's an expert, is that right?" Harriet asked her once they were alone.  "He knows about aliens?"

"Yeah," Rose replied, eyes narrowing.  "Why, what happened?" 

Harriet broke down into tears, unable to respond.  Rose put an arm around her.  "Okay, I know, it's alright," she said soothingly.  "Tell me where," she ordered as Harriet pulled herself together.

Harriet led her to the cabinet room.  "They turned the body into a suit!" she cried once inside, holding up someone's empty skin.  "A disguise for the thing inside!"

"It's alright," Rose assured her again as she started crying.  "I believe you. It's…it's alien."  She glanced around the room, spotting a _very_ familiar cupboard.  She worried her lip, and decided it was time for some tough love.  "Harriet Jones, you are an elected official.  The people need to you to be strong," she ordered.  Harriet looked at her in shock, then drew herself up and nodded.  "Right.  We need to find...whatever...alien technology is causing this," she said, hating herself for lying as she made her way to the cupboard.

As she expected, a tall, thin man fell out onto the floor as she opened the door.  Harriet hurried over to examine the body.

"Is that—“

The aid from earlier chose that moment to enter the room.  "Harriet, for God's sake! This has gone beyond a joke.  You cannot just wander—"  He froze when he saw the body on the floor.  "Oh, my God," he said.  "That's the Prime Minister!"

"Ohhh!" cried a voice from the door.  Rose cringed as she recognized one of her least favorite aliens.  She looked up to see Margaret saunter in.  "Has someone been naughty?"

"That's impossible," the aid declared.  "He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street, he was driven away!"

"And who told you that?" Margaret asked him with a little smile.  "Hmm?" 

The aid looked shocked.  Margaret’s smile broadened.

"Oh that's right," she said happily.  "Me."


	12. World War III Part 1

Even knowing what was coming didn't stop the horror from rising within Rose as she watched Margaret unzip her skin and reveal her true form.  The grotesque green thing loomed above them.

"No!" Rose cried as the thing that had been Margaret grabbed hold of the aid, pressing him up against the wall and strangling him.  She cast her eyes wildly about the room, finally grabbing a chair and smashing it against the alien's back.  The thing cried out in pain, dropping him to the ground.  He crumpled, breathing heavily.  Rose let out a curse and moved towards him, but Harriet grabbed her arm as the alien lit up with an electric current and convulsed.  The aid backed away from it quickly, and Rose helped him to his feet before pushing him and Harriet in front her as she raced past the alien and out of the room.

They ran into a corridor, only to be brought up short.  "No, wait!" Harriet cried.  "They're still in there! The emergency protocols! We need them!"

"Yeah, hard to read if we're dead," Rose pointed out, glancing back down the corridor.  "That thing'll be after us in a minute."

On cue, the Slitheen burst out of the cabinet room and tore after them.  They took off again down the corridor, Rose twisting the path whenever possible.  She thought she caught a glimpse of the Doctor in the lift as she ran past, but she wasn't sure.  Finally, they reached a dead end in a room with only one unlocked door in or out.

"Hide," she ordered the other two tersely, sprinting for the curtains.  Just as she slipped behind them, the Slitheen crashed into the room.  The alien halted its rampage when the room appeared empty, instead moving about more warily as it tried to sniff them out.

"Oh, such fun!" it cried happy.  "Little human children... where are you? Sweet little humeykins... come to me... let me kiss you better...kiss you with my big, green lips."

Rose shuddered.  _Any time now, Doctor_ , she thought as she heard the door open again and more Slitheen enter.

"My brothers," the Margaret thing greeted the other two.

"Happy hunting?" asked one of the new Slitheen.

"It's wonderful," Margaret told him.  "The more you prolong it, the more they _stink_."

"Sweat," noted the other newcomer.  "And fear."

"I can smell an old girl," said the first.  "Stale bird... brittle bones."

“And a young man,” said the second, “stressed and eager to please.”

"And a ripe youngster," Margaret went on.  "All hormones and adrenaline. Fresh enough to bend before she snaps."

Rose jumped as the curtain was swept aside and looked up at the looming creature, eyes blazing.

"No!" Harriet cried, jumping from her hiding place.  "Take me first! Take me!"

Rose used the distraction to pull the curtain down over Margaret’s head, and was already sprinting toward the door when the Doctor burst in, blasting a fire extinguisher at the Slitheen.

"Out! With me!" he yelled to them.  "Hello," he said, nodding at Rose as she stepped behind him.

"Hello," she said weakly.

He smiled, then whipped his head around at Harriet and the aid as they took up position at his other shoulder.  "Who the hell are you?"

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North," she told him.

“Indra Garnesh, junior secretary, we met downstairs,” the aid put in.

"Right.  Nice to meet you."

"Likewise,” they said in unison.

The Doctor blasted the fire extinguisher again, and the three legged it away from the cowering creatures.

"We need to get to the cabinet room!" called the Doctor as they ran down the corridor.

"The Emergency Protocols are in there!" Harriet informed him.  "They give instructions on aliens!"

"Harriet Jones, I like you."

"And I like you too," she said.

The Doctor soniced open a side door, and they piled through, Rose locking it behind them.  The Doctor ran to close the main door, but the Slitheen were already there.  Thinking quickly, he picked up a nearby bottle of brandy and held his screwdriver against it threateningly.

"One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol," he warned them.  "Whoof! We all go up. So back off."  He stared them down, and they hesitated.  “Right then," he continued.  "Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"

"They're aliens," Harriet said helpfully.

"Yes. I got that, thanks," the Doctor said sarcastically.

"Who are you, if not human?" one of the Slitheen asked.

"Who's not human?" Harriet asked.  Rose shook her head and shushed her.  The Doctor shot her a grateful look.

"So – what’s the plan?" he asked the creatures.  "You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government – what for? Invasion?"

"Why would we invade this God forsaken rock?" scoffed one of the Slitheen.

"Then something's brought the Slitheen race here," the Doctor said.  "What is it?"

"'The Slitheen race'?" asked one of them, bewildered.

"Slitheen is not our species," explained another.  "Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel-Fotch Pasameer-Day Slitheen at your service."

"So, you're family," the Doctor said, looking at them with new eyes.

"It's a family business."

"Then you're out to make a profit," the Doctor noted.  "How can you do that on a 'God forsaken rock'?”

"Ahhh... excuse me? Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability...?"

The Doctor pause, shifting uncomfortably.  "Is that what I said?"

"You're making it up!" one of the Slitheen accused.

"Ah, well! Nice try. Harriet, have a drink. I think you're gonna need it," the Doctor said, holding the brandy out to her.

"Pass it to the left first," Harriet said, manners kicking in automatically.

"Sorry," he said, handing it to Rose without looking around.  Rose bit back a smile.

"Now we can end this hunt," said the Slitheen menacingly.  "With a slaughter."

"Doctor," Indra said quickly.  "Doors."

He gave him a blank look.  Then his face cleared and he grinned.

"Fascinating history, Downing Street," he said, going into full lecture mode.  "Two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. 1730, it was occupied by a Mr. Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the cabinet room - if the cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain."  He reached out and pressed a button near the door.  "End of lesson."

Metal shutters slammed down over every door and window, blocking the Slitheen from their intended prey.

"Installed in 1991," continued the Doctor.  "Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in."

"And we can't get out," Rose said flatly.  He glanced at her, then shook his head.  They were trapped.

oOoOo

Rose's mind worked furiously as she pretended to look for anything of use in the room.  She knew what was coming...for Mickey and her mum, for her and the Doctor and Harriet Jones...and she couldn't tell him.  She felt them hurtling toward an eventuality that would be made so much simpler if she could just hand him the information he needed.  This was going to be...touchy.

"Right, what have we got?" the Doctor asked.  Rose looked at him blankly, absorbed in her thoughts.  "Any terminals? Anything?"

“I already told you, the cabinet has nothing in here but the speaker phone,” Indra said irritably.  “Everything else they bring in with them.”

“That’s helpful, thanks,” the Doctor said snarkily.

"So, the Prime Minister…they couldn't use him, because he's too slim, yeah?"  Rose asked.  The Doctor nodded, looking impressed that she'd made this connection.  "But the Slitheen are about 8 feet, how do they squeeze inside at all?"

"That's the device around their necks.  Compression field," he explained.  "Literally shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas, it's a big exchange."

"Wish I had a compression field, I could fit a size smaller," Rose said, and the Doctor smirked.

"Excuse me," Harriet piped up. "People are dead, this is not the time for making jokes."

"Sorry," Rose said sincerely as the Doctor scanned the walls.  "You sort of get used to this stuff when you're friends with him."

"Well, that's a strange friendship," the older woman remarked.

"You have no idea," Rose said.

"Harriet Jones," the Doctor said, frowning at her.  "I've heard that name before – Harriet Jones. You're not famous for anything, are you?"

"Hardly," scoffed Harriet.

"Rings a bell, Harriet Jones," he said, looking away as he struggled to remember.

"Lifelong back bencher I'm afraid, and a fat lot of use I'm being now,” she said, throwing the folders down in irritation.  “The protocols are redundant, they list the people who can help and they're all dead downstairs.”

Rose leaned against the table, chewing on her nail.  "What about defense codes for a nuclear strike?  Where do we get those?"

"You're a very violent young woman," Harriet said, taken aback.  Rose said nothing.  Harriet shook her head.  "There's nothing like that in here. Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the United Nations."

"Say that again," the Doctor said, pausing his scan to turn to them.

"What, about the codes?"

"Anything. All of it," he said, looking thoughtful.

“The British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a special resolution from the UN," Indra informed him.

"Like that's every stopped them," Rose said with a snort.

"Exactly, given our past record – and I voted against that, thank you very much,” Harriet stated.  “The codes have been taken out of the governments hands and given to the UN."  Harriet glanced at the Doctor.  "Is it important?"

"Everything's important," he said, frowning.

"If we only knew what the Slitheen wanted,” she said.  “Listen to me, I'm saying 'Slitheen' as if it's normal."

"Well, it's like you said, Doctor…family business," Rose said slowly.  He looked up at her.  "It's not an invasion, it's just them.  But they want something, something we have here on Earth."

"Like what?" Harriet asked.  "Gold? Oil? Water?"

"You two are very good at this," the Doctor said with a small smile.  Rose grinned at him.

"Thank you," Harriet said, looking please.

"Harriet Jones," he said again.  "Why do I know that name?"

Rose jumped as her phone went off.  "That's me," she said.

"But we're sealed off," Indra said, confused.  "How did you get a signal?"

"Super-phone," she said quickly, nodding at the Doctor.  "Frequent flyer privilege."

"Then we can phone for help!" Harriet cried as the Doctor smirked.  "You must have contacts."

"Dead downstairs, yeah," he told her.

"It's Mickey," Rose said.

"Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy," the Doctor spat.

"Yeah, not my boyfriend.  Not so stupid, either," Rose said as she showed him the picture of the Slitheen.

oOoOo

"No, no, no, no, no – not just alien, but like, proper alien," Mickey was telling Rose on the phone.  "All stinking, and wet, and disgusting. And more to the point, it wanted to kill us!"

Rose heard her mother shout something in the background, but ignored it.  "Hang on, talk to the Doctor," she told him before handing off the phone.

"Is that Rickey?" the Doctor asked, snatching the phone.  "Don't talk, just shut up and go to your computer."  There was a pause as Mickey said something else.  "Mickey the Idiot – I might just choke before I finish this sentence, but eh – I need you."  His mouth twisted as if he'd just taken a bite of something that didn't agree with him.  Rose smiled.  He glanced at her and sighed.  "You're going to need to go on the UNIT website and get into their information archives."

Indra looked as if he was about to protest, but the Doctor silenced him with a look.  He pulled the phone from his ear and spun to the table, plugging the mobile into the speaker phone in the center.  "Say again," he said.

"It's asking for the password."

"Buffalo – two Fs, one L."

"So, what's that website?" they heard Jackie ask.

"All the secret information known to mankind," Mickey told her.  "See, they've known about aliens for years, they just kept us in the dark."

"Mickey, you were born in the dark."

"Not helping," Rose chimed in.

"Thank you," Mickey said.  "Password again."

"Just repeat it, every time," the Doctor told him, then straightened and began pacing.  "Big Ben...why did the Slitheen hit Big Ben?"

"You said to gather the experts – to kill them," Harriet said, handing out brandy glasses.

"That lot would've gathered for a weather balloon," the Doctor said, shaking his head.  "You don't need to crash land in the middle of London."

"So they need it there," Rose suggested.  "They needed to move the ship, and they needed the country on red alert.  What for?"

"Oh, listen to her," Jackie scoffed.

"At least I'm trying!" Rose snapped back before she could stop herself.  Stupid teenage impulses.

"Well, I've got a question if you don't mind," Jackie started, but Rose cut her off.

"Not now, Mum."

"I'm talking to him," Jackie insisted.  "'Cause I've seen this life of yours, Doctor. And maybe you get off on it. And maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you tell me. Just answer me this – is my daughter safe?"

"I'm fine," Rose responded quickly as the Doctor stared hard at the phone.

"Is she safe? Will she always be safe? Can you promise me that?"

"No one can promise that, Mum," Rose said, looking at the Doctor.  "Don't put that on him.  Even if I stayed here I could get hit by a bus crossing the street.  But doing what's right and doing what's safe aren't always the same thing.  The Doctor does what's right, and I'm going to do the same."

The Doctor looked up at her, his mouth falling open a little.  Jackie was silent.

"We're in," Mickey said a little awkwardly, breaking the tension.

"Right then!" the Doctor cried, circling around the table again.  "On the left, there's a tab—an icon—little concentric circles; click on that."

"What is it?"

"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal," he said.  "Now hush, let me work out what it's saying." He paused listening intently.  "It's some sort of message…"

"What's it say?" Rose asked.

"Don't know – it's on a loop, keeps repeating."  There was a buzzer blare from the phone.  "Hush!" the Doctor ordered, listening intently as Mickey told Jackie to get the door.  "It's beaming out into space, who's it for?"

"It's him! It's the thing, it's the Slickeen!" they heard Jackie cry.

"They've found us," Mickey said flatly.

"Mickey, I need that signal," the Doctor said.

"Then we have to stop the Slitheen," Rose said simply.  "You're not going to be able to get that signal 'til they're safe.  So come on, Expert.  What do they do?"

"Oh, my God," Mickey said.  "It's unmasking. It's gonna kill us."

The Doctor stared intently at the table, deep in thought.

"Doctor?" Rose said.  "That's my mother."

He looked up at her and nodded.  "Right!" he growled.  "If we're going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from - which planet. So, judging by their face and shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within travelling distance. What else do we know about them? Information!"

"They're green," Rose said.

"Yep, narrows it down,"

"Uh…good sense of smell," she said, trying to think of characteristics while trying to remember what it was that they'd done last time, as well as keep herself from just telling him flat out.

"Narrows it down,"

"They can smell adrenaline," Indra added.

"Narrows it down,"

"The compression technology," Harriet put in.

"Narrows it down."

"The spaceship in the Thames," said Rose.  "You said slipstream engine?"

"Narrows it down."

Rose cursed as she heard shouting from the phone.  She thought furiously, trying to remember-- "OH!  The gas!  It doesn't smell like gas!  It smells like—“

"Bad breath!" Harriet cried.

"Calcium decay!" cried the Doctor triumphantly.  "Now _that_ narrows it down!"

"Just hold on, you two," Rose called into the phone.

"Calcium phosphate, organic calcium, living calcium, creatures made out of living calcium, what else, what else – hyphenated sodium – yes! That narrows it down to one planet!" the Doctor shouted.  "Raxacoricofallapatorius!"

Rose sighed in relief and sagged against the back of a chair.  Keeping what she should and shouldn't know straight sometimes felt like running a marathon.

"Oh, yeah, great," Mickey sneered.  "We could write 'em a letter."

"Get into the kitchen," the Doctor ordered.  "Calcium, recombined with compression field - ascetic acid. Vinegar!"

"Just like Hannibal!" cried Harriet.

"Just like Hannibal," confirmed the Doctor.  "Mickey, have you got any vinegar?"

"How should I know?" Mickey asked.

"It's your kitchen," the Doctor said, staring at the phone in disbelief.

"Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf," Rose put in quickly.

"Give it here," they heard Jackie say. "What do you need?"

"Anything with vinegar!" the Doctor told her.

"Gherkins!" Jackie cried.  "Yeah! Pickled onions!  Pickled eggs!"

"You kiss this man?" he asked Rose, raising an eyebrow.

"Not anymore," she retorted, and smiled as his other eyebrow shot up.

They heard a tremendous crash, then the Slitheen roaring at Jackie and Mickey--then silence.  Rose held her breath for a beat before hearing the loud bang of the Slitheen exploding.  They all breathed a sigh of relief.

"To Hannibal," Rose said weakly, raising her glass.

"To Hannibal," the other three chorused, smiling as they raised their glasses.

oOoOo

While Jackie and Mickey were cleaning themselves up and regrouping, the Doctor leaned against a wall and watched Rose.  He wondered if this girl would ever stop surprising him.  Right now, she was talking quietly with Harriet Jones and Indra Ganesh, explaining the whole "not human" remark that she had avoided earlier, giving him space to think.  And he should be thinking about the situation at hand…but he kept coming back to her.

She was so quick, so bright.  She had made astute observations with remarkable speed.  She had an innate sense of right and wrong, and had no trouble standing up to anyone, including him, to defend it.  And the faith she had in him, the faith she'd used to stand up to her mother on his behalf, frankly astounded him.  In the few days she'd known him, he had blown up her job, made her lose an entire year, and nearly gotten her killed more than once, and she was still here, helping him, defending him, supporting him without question.  And somehow, just having her around made him feel a little less hopeless and alone.  Given the sheer enormity of his loss, even this slight difference she made set her apart from any other companion he’d had.

There was one sure plan he had, a last resort in defeating these Slitheen.  He vowed to himself that he would do everything in his power to avoid that.  He couldn't lose Rose.  Not yet.  And certainly not like this.

oOoOo

"Listen to this," Mickey's voice said over the phone.  They all leaned on the table, getting close as Mickey held the phone to the TV for them.

"Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads," the fake Acting Prime Minister was saying, "and they have found massive weapons of destruction, capable of being deployed within 45 seconds."

The Doctor frowned.  "What?"

"Our technicians can...baffle...the alien probes," the man continued.  "But not for long. We are facing extinction. Unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg the United Nations – pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes! A nuclear strike at the heart of the ship is our only chance of survival. Because…from this moment on…it is my solemn duty to inform you…planet Earth is at war."

"He's making it up," the Doctor said, pushing off the table and circling around it. "There's no weapons up there, there's no threat. He just invented it."

"Do you think they'll believe him?" Harriet asked.

"They did last time," Rose muttered.  She froze for a second, but realized that the comment could easily be construed to be about the crash hoax.

"That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle," the Doctor said, nodding.  Rose mentally wiped her brow.  "They want the whole world panicking, because you lot - you get scared, you lash out."

Rose groaned.  "They release the defense codes—“

"And the Slitheen go nuclear," he finished for her as he strode toward the door.

"But why?" cried Harriet.

The Doctor pressed the button near the door again, opening the metal shudders and facing the Slitheen waiting outside.

"You get the codes, release the missiles," he said quietly, radiating tension.  "But not into space because there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth, they retaliate, fight back. World War Three – whole planet gets nuked."

"And we can sit through it in our spaceship waiting in the Thames," Margaret said as she came forward, back in skin suit.  "Not crashed. Just parked. They'll be two minutes away."

"But you'll destroy the planet," Indra said angrily.  “What for?  What do you gain?"

"Profit," the Doctor said, eyes still trained on Margaret.  "That's what the signal is beaming into space - an advert."

"Sale of the century. We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it. Piece by piece," she said, smirking.  "Radioactive chucks capable of powering every cut-price star liner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel."

"At the cost of 5 billion lives," the Doctor noted.

"Bargain," she replied.

"Then I give you the choice," he told her.  "Leave this planet or I'll stop you." 

"What? You?" Margaret said, laughing along with the rest of the Slitheen.  "Trapped in your box?"

"Yes," he said darkly, eyes blazing.  "Me."

He closed the metal shutter on her, and Rose shivered.


	13. World War III Part 2

Rose watched the Doctor carefully as Harriet, Mickey and Indra tried to think of ways to stop the Slitheen.  He was leaning against a wall, deep in thought.  She knew what he was thinking of, and she knew how it hurt him. 

"Is there a way out of this, Doctor?" she asked him quietly.

He looked at her for a long moment.  "There's always been a way out," he said finally.

"Then why don't we use it?"

"Because I don't know if I can keep you safe," he admitted hoarsely.

"Don't you dare," Jackie cried over the phone upon hearing him.  "Whatever it is, don't you dare."

"That's the thing," he said, leaning down.  "If I don't dare, everyone dies."

"Do it," Rose said calmly.

"You don't even know what it is," the Doctor said, staring at her.  "You'd just let me?"

"Yeah."

"Please, Doctor. Please!" Jackie begged as the Doctor continued to search Rose's eyes.  "She's my daughter, she's just a kid!"

"She's not just anything," he said softly.  "But this is my life, Jackie," he said louder.  "It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will."

"Then what're you waiting for?" Rose asked him.

He looked up at her again, and Rose could see the pain in his eyes.  "I could save the world but lose you."

"There's what's right, and there's what's safe," Rose reminded him, smiling sadly.  "Not even a real choice, is it?"  He continued to watch her, looking torn.

"Except it's not your decision, Doctor," Harriet said after a moment.  The Doctor turned to her.  "It's mine."

"And who the hell are you?" Jackie yelled angrily.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North," Harriet said. Rose was surprised she didn't try to flash her badge at the phone.  "The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people, for the people, and on behalf of the people I command you. Do it."

The Doctor looked at her for a moment, then turned his eyes to the junior secretary.  “And you, Indra Ganesh?”

“I stand by my elected official,” he said firmly, making Harriet beam with pride.

The Doctor looked back to Rose and grinned.

"So how do we get out?" she asked, circling the table to stand next to him as he shuffled through the emergency protocols.

"We don't," he told her.  "We stay here.  Mickey, you're going to have to go through the UNIT site to the Royal Navy.  Use the 'buffalo' password, it overrides everything.”

"We're in," Mickey said after a moment.  "Here it is, uh…H.M.S. Taurean, Trafalgar Class Submarine, 10 miles off the coast of Plymouth."

"Right," the Doctor said.  "We need to select a missile."

"We can't go nuclear," Mickey reminded him.  "We don't have the defense codes."

"We don't need it, all we need is an ordinary missile. What's the first category?"

"Sub Harpoon, UGM84A."

"That's the one. Select," the Doctor instructed.  He paused and took a deep breath.  "Ready for this?"

"Yeah," Mickey said.

"Mickey the Idiot...the world is in your hands," the Doctor said, straightening up.  "Fire."

"How solid are these?" Harriet asked, tapping on the steel shutters.

"Not solid enough," he replied.  "Built for short range attack, nothing this big."  He looked over and finally noticed Rose pulling things from the cupboard.  "What are you doing?"

"Making a choice," she told him. "We're not going to die.  We're gonna ride this one out."

"What's your plan?" Harriet asked, hurrying over to help her.

"It's like what they say about earthquakes," Rose said.  "You can survive 'em by standing under a doorframe. This cupboard's small so it's strong.  Come on, junior secretary, you can help as well."

"Rose Tyler, you are fantastic!" the Doctor said happily.

"It's on radar," Mickey broke in.  "Counter defense 556."

"Stop them intercepting it," the Doctor told him, taking the phone from the speaker connection and walking toward the cupboard.

"I'm doing it now."

"Good boy."

"556 neutralized."

"Doctor, come on," said Rose.

They scrambled into the cupboard, packing together in the corner with the Doctor and Harriet in the middle, Rose and Indra on either side.

"Rose—“

"Doctor, whatever you want to say can wait until after we survive this, because we are _going_ to survive," she told him fiercely.

"You are a very strange girl, Rose," Harriet said.  Rose just grinned.  Harriet took a deep breath.

 "Nice knowing you Doctor, Rose,” Indra said.  “Ms. Jones…a pleasure working with you.”

The Doctor took the hands of both woman in each of his and squeezed.

"Hannibal!" Harriet cried just before the world exploded around them.

The room jolted and rocked, then shook violently before spinning end over end, tumbling them around inside.  At some point, the Doctor grabbed on to Rose, and when it stopped, she found herself pinned beneath him, his arms tight around her.  He glanced down at her and sprang away.  Rose sighed and shook her head, picking herself up off the ground as the Doctor opened the door.

"Are you alright?" a soldier asked in a shocked voice as they climbed out of the bunker.

"Harriet Jones. MP, Flydale North," Harriet said quickly, flashing her badge.  "I want you to contact UN immediately, tell the ambassadors the crisis is over and they can step down. Go on, tell the news!"

"Yes, ma'am," he said, hurrying away.

"Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out," she continued, taking in the devastation.  "Oh, Lord! We haven't even got a Prime Minister!"

"Well, maybe you should have a go," the Doctor suggested.

"Me?  I'm only a back-bencher."

“You’d get my vote,” Indra told her genuinely.  “Saving the world is a far cry from cottage hospitals.”

"See, there you go," Rose said with a grin.

"Now, don't be silly," she scolded.  The Doctor and Rose both grinned at her, and she shook her head.  "Look, I'd better go and see if I can help.  Come on, Indra, I’ll be needing a right hand man."

They started climbing over the rubble, Harriet shouting to the crowd as they went.  The Doctor beamed down at Rose before taking her hand and following.

"I thought I knew the name," he said as they made their way on to the street.  They watched as Harriet Jones ran over to the cameras and ambulances.  "Harriet Jones - future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms, the architect of Britain's Golden Age."

"We'll see," Rose said under her breath, remembering her last meeting with Harriet Jones, and how a furious Time Lord had toppled her government with six words.  She shivered as her memory went back further, to the GameStation.  She pulled a little closer to the Doctor, breathing in the scent of leather that she knew had an expiration date.

oOoOo

Rose sat in her mum's flat, waiting for the Doctor and watching Harriet Jones' speech on the TV.  She felt good about the day.  She hadn’t been able to save the people the Slitheen had taken over, but she hadn’t been there for any of that in either scenario.  At least Indra had survived this time.  One more person she’d been able to protect that had been lost before.

_"Mankind stands tall…proud--"_

"Harriet Jones," Jackie interrupted contemptuously.  "Who does she think she is? Look at her! Taking all the credit. Should be you on there.  My daughter saved the world!" she told the TV.

Rose rolled her eyes.  "I think the Doctor helped a bit."

"Oh, alright then, him too," she admitted grudgingly.  "You should be given knighthoods.  What's so funny then?" she asked when Rose gave her an odd look and burst into laughter.

"Nothing," Rose said after a moment, wiping tears from her eyes.  "Nothing.  It's just...that's not usually the way he does things. No fuss, he just…moves on. He's not that bad if you gave him a chance."

"He's good in a crisis, I'll give him that," Jackie said.

"Oh! Now the world has changed," Rose said theatrically.  "You're saying nice things about him."

"Well, I reckon I've got no choice!" Jackie whined.  "There's no getting rid of him since you're infatuated."

"Nope," Rose told her, popping the 'p' and grinning madly.

Jackie made an irritated noise and turned back to the TV.  After a moment, she asked, "What does he eat?"

"No, mum," Rose said firmly.

"I was gonna do shepherd’s pie," Jackie continued, ignoring her.  "All of us. A proper sit down. 'Cause…I'm ready to listen. I wanna learn about you and him and that life you lead. Only, I dunno, he's an alien. For all I know, he eats grass and safety pins and things."

"Tea isn't…really something he does either," Rose said carefully.

"Who doesn't do tea?" Jackie scoffed.  "Well, fine, I won't cook for him, if he can’t appreciate it.  But he'll still come for a sit down and a nice long chat," she added as she stood up and walked toward the kitchen.  "You can go and visit your gran tomorrow," she continued.  "You'd better learn some French. I told her you were in France. I said you were au-pairing."

Rose rolled her eyes, then grabbed at her phone when it beeped.  The caller ID showed that it was the TARDIS calling, complete with a tiny TARDIS icon.

"There's my favorite time traveler," she said happily as she answered the phone.

"Hello to you too," he said with a chuckle.  "Right, I'll be a couple of hours, then we can go."

"What are you doing?"

"Clearing up the loose ends," he told her.  "I've just got to send out this dispersal...There you go. That's cancelling out the Slitheen's advert in case any bargain hunters turn up."

"My mum wanted us for tea," she said.

"Not a good plan," he said.  "Time Lords are tough on the digestion, and I shouldn’t even talk about the long term effects of cannibalism.  Not pretty."

Rose snorted.  "She wants a 'proper sit down' with you."

"Tough," he replied.  "I've got better things to do!"

"I sort of figured as much," Rose said with a snicker.  "So, Doctor…entice me.  Tell me why I should go with you and leave everything here behind."

"Well, you can stay there if you want," he said dismissively.  Then, after a small pause, he continued in a low voice, "But right now there's this plasma storm brewing in the horse head nebula.  Fires are burning 10 million miles wide. I could fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it then ride the shock wave all the way out—hurtle right across the sky and end up anywhere.  Your choice." There was a click and he was gone.

Rose was biting her lip.  It should be illegal for someone to make space travel sound so…sexy.  She made her way to her room and started packing her bag.

"I was wondering whether he drinks or not," Jackie said suddenly from the bedroom door.

"Yeah, he does," she said without looking around as she packed.

"Don't go, sweetheart," Jackie said.  Rose finally looked at her.  "Please don't go."

"I've got to, Mum," she told her.  "I can't explain it properly right now, I don't know if I ever will be able to, but he needs me, Mum.  And I need him.  I can't just go back to being a shop girl going nowhere, not after seeing what's out there, what I can do.  I'm sorry, Mum."

She went back to packing.  Jackie let her be until it was time to meet the Doctor, then took up her case again as she walked her to the TARDIS.

"I'll get a proper job," she promised.  “I'll work weekends, I'll pass my test and if Jim comes round again, I'll say no. I really will."

"I'm not leaving 'cause of you," Rose told her.  "I'm travelling, that's all. With the Doctor.”

"But it's not safe."

"Mum…if you saw it out there…you'd never stay home."

She turned to the Doctor, heaving her pack off her shoulders and into his arms with a grin.

"Got enough stuff?" he asked, sarcastically.

"Last time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment," she said.  "Now I'm signing up. You're stuck with me.  Haha."

She turned and took a few steps toward Mickey.  "I'll miss you," she told him softly.  "I'll call you the minute we come back.  And I promise no one will accuse you of murdering me this time."

They grinned at each other.

"Just be careful out there, yeah?" Mickey said.  "Good luck."

"Thanks," Rose said before giving him a hug.

"You still can't promise me,” Jackie said to the Doctor.  “What if she gets lost? What if something happens to you, Doctor, and she's left all alone standing on some moon a million light years away - how long do I wait then?"

"Mum," Rose said, and Jackie spun around.  She put her hand on her mother's shoulder.  "I’m not gonna lie to you and say that I’ll always be safe.  You deserve better than that.  But I can tell you this: as long as I’m able, and as long as you’re here, I will ALWAYS come home to you.  The Doctor’ll make sure of it.  And when I’m not here, don’t waste your time worrying…just remember that I’m out there, with him, doing what’s right."

She hugged Jackie one last time, and followed the Doctor into the TARDIS.


	14. Settling In

_“Well if you want to sing out, sing out…”_

The Doctor froze in the console room as the song came drifting out of the corridor behind him.

_“And if you want to be free, be free…”_

He turned and stared.  Singing wasn’t something that…happened in the TARDIS.  Screaming, occasionally.  Laughter, often.  Singing…no.

_“‘Cause there’s a million things to be…You know that there are…”_

Warily, he made his way to corridor and looked down it suspiciously.

_“And if you want to live high, live high…”_

He started walking down the corridor, intent on finding the source now.  He had a sinking feeling he already knew.

_“And if you want to live low, live low…”_

He stopped in front of a partially opened door emblazoned with a rose.

_“‘Cause there’s a million ways to go…You know that there are…”_

Slowly, he pushed the door open further.  Rose was unpacking, dancing as she sang along to the song her headphones were playing.

_“You can do what you want…The opportunity’s on…”_

He leaned against the door jam and crossed his arms as he watched her with a bemused smile.

_“And if you find a new way…You can do it today…”_

He wondered idly if that’s how she saw travelling with him, as a new way to live her life.  She’d certainly seemed rather adamant about it.  The thought cheered him a little.  The girl had made the days since he’d met her a little less torturous to get through…it was good to think she was happy about being with him as well.

 _“And you can make it all true…And you can make it undo…You see—”_ She squeaked to a halt when she finally turned and saw him standing in the doorway, ripping the headphones out of her ears.

“All of time and space, and what do you listen to?  Cat Stevens,” he said with a long suffering sigh.

“It’s a good song,” she protested even as she flushed bright red.

“It’s a bit…folk for my taste,” he said with a frown.  She rolled her eyes and shook her head before going back to her unpacking.  “Settling in then?”  She nodded with a happy smile as he gazed around the room, taking in the décor.  There was coral winding around the pale pink walls that matched the console room, and his eye caught again on the rose etched on the door.  Even the TARDIS had a strange affinity for the girl, and she, apparently, for it.  He didn’t quite know what to make of that.

“What do you dance to then?” she asked, breaking into his thoughts.

“I don’t dance,” he informed her sourly.

“What, ever?” She eyed him skeptically.  “Not ever in 900 years?”

“Well, no,” he scoffed.  “Stands to reason I’ve danced a time or two.  Janis Joplin and I once had a fantastic time together.  She gave me a coat.”

“That…was nice of her,” she said, a little breathlessly.  He looked at her curiously.  “Think I’ll ever get a chance to see you in that?”

“Not likely,” he told her.  “Not really my…style anymore.  I got that back when I was…well…different.”

“How different?” she asked, sitting down on the bed amidst a pile of clothes and giving him a penetrating stare.  “While we’re on the subject, why wouldn’t UNIT have recognized you?”

He hesitated, shifting uncomfortably.

“You don’t look more than forty, so it stands to reason that it’s not just aging, yeah?”

“What does it matter?” he asked in an annoyed tone.

“It doesn’t,” she said with a shrug.  “I’m just curious.”

He didn’t want to tell her.  He didn’t want her to ever have to know.  He didn’t want to lose her.  Not yet.  Not like this.  Maybe, if he kept her in the dark, it wouldn’t ever happen.  Because when it did, she’d go running for the hills.

 _Others stayed_ , a voice told him.  _She will too_.

But she wasn’t the others, he argued back.  She was…more.  Some way he couldn’t quite define, she was definitely more.

 _She’s already accepted everything else_ , the voice said.

But this might be the one she couldn’t.  The one that sent her over the edge.  The one thing that was just…too alien.  He didn’t want to risk that.

“Doctor?” she asked uncertainly.  He realized he had been quiet for too long.  _Fine_ , he thought angrily.  _You want it all, take it all.  But don’t expect me to come looking for you when you run away.  That’s not going to happen.  You’re not that special._

“Time Lords have this…trick,” he told her, his voice distant and hard.  “A way of cheating death.  Every cell in the body changes as it repairs.  I end up a whole new man, totally changed.”

“And I thought bleaching my hair was drastic,” she quipped.  He stared at her, completely bewildered.

“Totally new face, every time,” he insisted, making sure she understood.

“How many times have you done that?”

“Eight,” he answered promptly, too surprised to try to lie.  She didn’t seem remotely shocked or dismayed or terrified or mortified or any of the human responses that he knew she should be feeling.

“That would make it a bit hard to keep track of you, then,” she commented.  “So that’s what’s going to happen if you ever…” she swallowed.  “If you’re close to death.”

“Yeah,” he said, still staring at her, his thoughts having been ground to a complete halt.

“Well, thanks for the warning,” she said, her expression finally turning thoughtful as she turned back to her clothes.  “I’ll have to keep that in mind.  Thank you…for telling me.”

“Yeah,” he said again.  He shook himself.  “When you’re done with that, I’ve got somewhere to show you,” he went on gruffly.  “Silly place, you’ll like it.  Very fond of hopping, for some reason.”

She nodded and he turned to go.  She started singing again before he was even out of the corridor, the lovely voice that had drawn him to her in the first place.

He shook his head.  He couldn’t understand how she could take everything so calmly, like it wasn’t completely outside where her comfort zone should’ve been.

One day, he vowed as he walked back to the console room, one day, he’d figure out Rose Tyler.


	15. Dalek part 1

The next few weeks went by in a blur for Rose.  There was the planet that they once again had to hop for their lives, the rebellion on Kortan, getting arrested multiple times…and she was having the time of her life.  She loved being out on adventures again just for the sake of it with the Doctor, rather than leading a team into crisis situations as Defender of Earth.  That said…she hadn’t anticipated how hard to would be, how all the little losses and things she wasn’t able to change would add up.  She tried to keep herself together, knowing that she was still making some difference…but it was getting more difficult.

The Doctor, on the other hand, was still trying to understand the little human he’d found himself travelling with.  She irritated the hell out of him quite often, and she could shout like anything…but she also had a way of smiling that seemed to warm everything around her…even him.  He’d spent so long as a broken shell that it was strange to think there might actually be something left inside, and even stranger that this girl could bring it out.  In the weeks that she’d been aboard the TARDIS, she’d actually managed to make him believe that there might actually something left to salvage after all the destruction he’d wrought.  Maybe.

Now, though, they were tracing a signal he’d caught while they had been simply floating, trying to decide where to go.  It was a distress signal, and he was the Doctor…which made the final decision easy.

"So, what is it?" Rose asked as they stepped out of the TARDIS.  "What's wrong?"

"Don't know," the Doctor told her truthfully.  "Some kind of signal drawing the TARDIS off course."

"Where and when are we?"

"2012," he said as he looked around.  "Earth, Utah, North America. About half a mile underground."

"God, that's so close," she said.  "That means I'm already…in my twenties," she finished lamely, catching herself.  If things didn't change, she would already be in the parallel universe.  Already fading away.  She shuddered.

"Mid-twenties," the Doctor corrected, smirking as he misread her reaction as the horror of leaving her teens.  "It's not so bad.  When I was 26, I was still considered a baby."

"Expect times have changed in the last 900 years," she replied tartly.

He grinned as he found a switch.  Light flooded the enormous room.

"Blimey," Rose breathed.  "It's a great big alien museum!"

"Someone's got a hobby," the Doctor said, nodding.  "They must've spent a fortune on this. Chunks of meteorite, moon dust…that's the milometer from the Roswell Spaceship."

"What collection isn't complete without a bit of Slitheen," she snorted in disgust, nodding at the stuffed arm.  The Doctor laughed before his attention was diverted elsewhere.

"Ah! Look at you!" he cried, examining another exhibit.  Rose approached slowly, and choked back the bile in her throat as she recognized a version of a Cyberman head.

"Old friend?" she choked out eventually.

"Old enemy," he told her, leaning down to get a better look.  "The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. I'm getting old."

"So where's the signal coming from?" she asked, shaking herself out of her thoughts.

"Hmm...not here," the Doctor said, still looking at the head.  "This thing's stone dead. The signal's alive. Something's reaching out.  Calling for help."

"You sure it's someone you're going to want to help?" Rose asked him, already thinking of the currently dilapidated Dalek she knew was being kept here.

"Nope.  But I've still got to find out."

He reached out and touched the glass with his fingers, and an alarm started blaring.  Immediately, soldiers began pouring in, surrounding them.

"If someone's collecting aliens, that makes you Exhibit A," Rose commented.

They were escorted through the exhibits to the lifts where they were met by an aid, Diana Goddard.  With her, they made their way to a posh office.

"And this is the last," a voice was saying as they entered. "Paid 800,000 for it."

"What does it do?" Van Statten asked as Adam handed it to him.

"Well you see, the tubes on the side must be to channel something," Adam guessed, incorrectly as it happened.  "I think maybe fuel—“

"I really wouldn't hold it like that," the Doctor cut it.

"Shut it," Goddard snapped.

"Really, though, that's wrong."

"Is it dangerous?" Adam asked warily.

"No. Just looks silly."  The security team raised their guns as the Doctor reached for the artifact.  He froze until Van Statten waved them off and handed it to the Doctor, his expression one of appraisal.  "You just need to be delicate," the Doctor said as he gently stroked the item, coaxing a few slow notes out of it.

"It's a musical instrument," Van Statten said redundantly.  Rose rolled her eyes.

"And it's a long way from home," commented the Doctor.

"Here, let me," Van Statten said, standing and snatching the thing out of the Doctor's hands.

"I did say 'delicate'," the Doctor said frowning as they heard a series of beeps and whines. "Reacts to the smallest fingerprint.  It needs precision."  He watched as Van Statten eased up, touching it more gently and managing a few notes.  "Very good. Quite the expert."

"As are you," Van Statten noted, looking up at him before tossing the instrument aside like day old trash.  The Doctor's eyes followed it before returning to Van Statten, looking wary and a little disdainful.  "Who exactly are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. And who are you?"

"Like you don't know," Van Statten scoffed.  "We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artifacts in the world and you just stumbled in by mistake."

"Pretty much sums me up, yeah."

"The question is, how did you get in?" Van Statten asked.  "Fifty-three floors down. With your little cat burglar accomplice. Quite a collector yourself, she's rather pretty," he added, eyeing Rose.

"She's gonna smack you if you keep calling her 'she'," Rose spat as the Doctor's eyes narrowed.

"She's English too!" he cried happily.  "Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy," he called to Adam.  "Got you a girlfriend."

"This is Mr Henry Van Statten," Adam told them.

"And who's he when he's at home?" Rose asked.

"Mr Van Statten owns the Internet," Adam informed them with a little cough.

"Who'd you steal that technology from, then?" she asked, unimpressed.

"I prefer the term excavated," Van Statten replied smoothly.

"I'll bet you do," Rose snorted.

"So you're an expert on just about everything," the Doctor said, "except the things in your museum. Anything you don't understand, you lock up."

"And you claim greater knowledge?" Van Statten asked, drawing himself up haughtily.

"I don't need to make claims," the Doctor told him calmly.  "I know how good I am."

"And yet, I captured you," Van Statten reminded him.  "Right next to the Cage. What were you doing down there?"

"You tell me."

"The cage contains my one living specimen."

"And what's that?"

"Like you don't know."

"Show me."

"You wanna see it?"

"Blimey, you can smell the testosterone," Rose muttered.

"Goddard, inform the Cage," Van Statten ordered.  "We're heading down.  "You, English," he added to Adam.  "Look after the girl. Canoodle or spoon, or whatever it is you British do. And you, Doctor with no name…Come and see my pet."

"Careful," Rose murmured, grabbing the Doctor's hand before he moved away.  "You…you don't know what's down there.  And keep an eye on Van Statten."

He hesitated, bristling a little at the idea of anyone giving _him_ warnings, but then nodded.  He gave her hand a squeeze before following Van Statten into the lift.

Adam led her out of the office, chattering on about Henry Van Statten and his innovations.  Rose paid little attention, occupying her time examining the corridors in case they needed a quick getaway.

She knew there was no way she would have been able to keep the Doctor from examining the Dalek in the Cage, short of handcuffing him to the TARDIS console…and that would have taken some explaining.  But she did know that she could keep the slaughter from happening by simply not touching the Dalek.

"What do you think this is?" Adam asked, breaking into her thoughts.

"Piece of a Criminean hypocaust," she said absently.

"Pardon?"

"Er—dunno, sounded good," she said quickly, picking up the lump of metal he was proffering.  "What do you think it is?"

"Oh…well, I think—well, I'm almost certain—it’s from the hull of a spacecraft," he told her, giving her a strange look.  "The thing is, it's all true. Everything the United Nations tries to keep quiet –spacecrafts, aliens, visitors to Earth—they really exist."

"That's amazing," she said, trying to sound astonished and failing miserably.

"I know it sounds incredible," Adam continued, not noticing her lack of enthusiasm, "but I honestly believe that the whole universe is teeming with life."

"Incredible…yeah," Rose said.  "So you do what? Sit here and catalogue it?"

"Best job in the world," he agreed happily.

"So, how'd you end up here?" Rose asked after a moment.

"Van Statten has agents all over the world looking for geniuses to recruit," he said proudly.

"Ah, right, you're a genius," she said derisively, remembering the idiotic stunts he pulled…or would pull…pull again?  Rose lost herself again as she considered the idea that she could just leave him behind this time, just go on with the Doctor…

"Nearly caused World War Three," Adam was saying as she pulled herself back to attention.

"What, and that's funny is it?" Rose asked, arching and eyebrow.

"Well you should've been there! Just to see them running about! Fantastic!"

"You almost sound like the Doctor," she commented.

"Are you and him…?"

"No," she said, trying to keep the wistfulness out of her voice.  "Just friends."

"Good," he replied, nodding.

"Why's it good?"

"Just is," he said with a small smile and a quietly flirty look.  God, had she really been that easy before?

"So…wouldn't you rather be downstairs?" she asked after a moment.  "I mean, you've got these bits of metal and stuff, but Mr Van Statten's got a living creature down there."

"Yeah…yeah well I did ask but he keeps it to himself," he told her, then paused, looking thoughtful. "Although…if you're a genius, it doesn’t take long to patch in on the com system…"

"What are you waiting for?" she asked with a sly grin.

"It doesn't do much, the alien," he said as he began tapping keys on the computer.  "It's weird, it's kind of…useless, it's just like this…great big pepper pot."

Rose's breath hitched a little when she saw the Dalek chained in the Cage.  Then she leaned close as he watched the technician electrocute it.  She chewed her lip.  She didn't have any love for the creatures—they were evil, hateful things, and it had been their fault that she'd been ripped away from this universe—but this was…wrong.  Even they didn't chain people down and torture them.  Simple "Exterminate!" and you were gone.  Even the Doctor, for all his reasons to hate them, would never condone _this_.

"Take me down there," she ordered.  "Now."

They made their way down to cage.  Rose had no idea where the Doctor was; he'd never told her what he'd been doing while she was in the Cage.  She had a feeling it wasn't good.

"Where's your boss?  And the Doctor?" she asked Adam as they drew near the Cage.

"No idea," Adam told her.  "Probably talking about the pepper pot."

 _Which probably involves the Doctor yelling at Van Statten a lot_ , Rose thought.  That would make sense.  He did say he'd warned the man.  Hopefully, this time, the warnings would be heeded.

"Hold it right there!" one of the guards shouted as they made their way in.

"Level three access," Adam said quickly, flashing a badge.  "Special clearance from Mr Van Statten."

And then they were in the dim room.  Rose stared at the Dalek chained under a spotlight.

"Don't get too close," Adam warned, and she nodded.  Like she'd need a warning.  She did take a few steps closer, taking in the rust and peeling bits of metal.

"I know what you are," she said quietly, too quietly for Adam to hear clearly.  "I know what your people did.  I know about the Time War."

" **WHAT ARE YOU?"** it asked, raising its eyestalk a little.

"I'm a human, but I travel with the Doctor," she told it.  "My name is Rose Tyler."

" **ROSE TYLER.** " it repeated.

"Yeah."  She paused, chewing on her lip.  "Are you in pain?"

" **YES.** " It paused, its eyestalk moving slightly as it looked her over.  " **THEY TORTURE ME** ," it continued slowly, sounding tired.  " **BUT STILL THEY FEAR ME. DO YOU FEAR ME? ROSE TYLER?** "

She considered it for a moment.  It was chained and dying.  Not even an echo of the monsters she'd faced.  "No," she said, honestly.

" **I AM DYING**."

"I know," she whispered.

" **I WELCOME DEATH** ," it said. " **BUT I AM GLAD…THAT BEFORE I DIE…I MET A HUMAN WHO WAS NOT AFRAID**."

It had said that before.  It didn’t make any sense…Daleks didn’t really care whether they were feared or not, they just wanted to destroy everything.  She realized now that it was trying to play on her sympathies from the moment she mentioned the Doctor, manipulating her into helping it break free.  She felt the loathing boil up in her at the thought.  Yet she still couldn't shake the sense of pity she had for the broken creature, chained and torture for someone else's amusement.

"I'm sorry for what they've done to you," she said finally.  "No one should suffer that.  Not even you."

" **MY RACE IS DEAD** ," it said, trying one last card.  " **I SHALL DIE ALONE**."

Rose shook her head sadly and turned to go.  As she did, though, her foot caught on a wire trailing across the floor, and she stumbled.  She heard Adam shout her name as her arm shot out to steady herself—

"No!" she cried in horror as her hand connected with the metal armor of the Dalek.

" **GENETIC MATERIAL EXTRAPOLATED!  INITIATE CELLULAR RECONSTRUCTION!** "

Rose backpedaled quickly as the Dalek gained strength.  Sparks flew as it ripped itself free of its chains.

"What the hell have you done?" the technician shouted as he ran into the room.

"No, don't get near it!" Rose yelled.

"Get your girlfriend out of here, Poindexter," he shot at Adam, who pulled Rose toward the door.  "Whatcha gonna do?" the technician sneered as he approached the Dalek.  "Sucker me to death?"

"No!" Rose shouted again as the Dalek proceeded to do just that.  She swallowed back tears and raced with Adam out of the cell.  "Lock it down," she ordered one of the guards.  "Hold it off.  _Do it!"_ she yelled when he hesitated.

"Condition red!" he yelled into the com device.  "Repeat, condition red! This is not a drill!"

He spun around and slammed into a button, closing down the door to the cell.

"Stupid man," Rose choked, tears burning in her eyes.  Her mind ran furiously through the events that had followed this, all the deaths.  "We need the Doctor.  Now.  He's the only one with a chance of fighting that thing."

"He's with Van Statten," Adam said.  "He'll probably be on shortly, responding the condition red.  But it can't get out, Rose.  The cell is sealed."

"Never underestimate it," Rose said darkly.

"Rose, how do you—“

"You've got to keep it in that cell!" the Doctor's voice shouted over the com, cutting Adam off.  Rose rushed to the computer.

"Doctor!  I'm sorry, it's all my fault."

"I've sealed the compartment," a guard said quickly before the Doctor could respond.  "It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations."

"The Dalek's a genius," the Doctor told him.  "It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat."

On cue, the panel by the door beeped, and numbers began whirling across the screen as the Dalek attempted codes on the other side.

"Back!" yelled the guard, ushering them and the other guard in the room to the archway.  "Get back!"

The guards positioned themselves in the archway, guns trained on the cell door.  Adam and Rose stood behind them watching warily.  There had to be a way to keep everyone from dying.  There had to be.  If she could just get them to listen, or to get the Dalek to stop before—

"Open fire!" the guard shouted as the door swung open.

"Don't shoot it, I want it unharmed!" Van Statten shouted over the com as bullets began flying.

"Rose, get out of there!" the Doctor yelled.

The Dalek continued advancing towards them, unfazed by the ballistic onslaught.

"De Maggio, take the civilians and get them out alive," the first guard ordered.  "That is your job, got that?"

The woman nodded.  "You, with me," she said, running into the corridor.

Guards converged at either end of the corridor as they ran from the Cage.  The guard shouted to let the civilians through without pausing.

"No, but you can't fight it!" Rose yelled, trying to stop them.  "Bullets don't work!"

"De Maggio, get her out of here!" one of the guards shouted, taking up position.

Adam grabbed her arm and towed her down the hall.  "Maybe enough bullets will break down its defenses," he yelled, trying to reassure her.  She just made a frustrated noise as the sound of the barrage filled the hall.  The sound of the pulses from the Dalek soon joined in, and then there was silence.

Eventually, they made their way to a stairway.

"Stairs!" Adam yelled triumphantly.  "That's more like it!  It hasn't got legs, it's stuck!"

"It's coming!"  De Maggio yelled.  "Get up!"

They ran up the steps and stopped to look over the landing as the Dalek entered the stairwell.  It paused at the foot of the first step.  Adam laughed in relief.

"Great big alien death machine," he mocked.  "Defeated by a flight of stairs."

"Now, listen to me," De Maggio called down to the Dalek.  "I demand that you return to your cage. If you want to negotiate, then I guarantee that Mr Van Statten will be willing to talk. I accept that we imprisoned you and maybe that was wrong. But people have died, and that stops. Right now. The killing stops, have you got that?"  The Dalek continued to watch her silently.  "I demand that you surrender, is that clear?

There was short pause as the Dalek considered them, then: " **EL-EV-ATE!** "

They all stared as the Dalek levitated into the air and began floating up the steps.

"Adam, get her out of here," De Maggio ordered.

"Come with us," Rose pleaded urgently.  "You can't stop it!"

"Someone's got to try," she replied calmly.  "Now get out!"

"But they have tried, and they all died!"

De Maggio pushed them away.  "Don't look back, just run!"

They did, sprinting up the stairs and out into another corridor.  They heard the Dalek's pulse and De Maggio scream, and Rose paused.

"Why's it coming this way?" Rose whispered, mostly to herself.

"What do you mean?"

"There's more than one stairway, more than one way up.  Why follow us?  What for?"

"To kill us?" Adam asked sarcastically.  Rose shook her head at him and took off down the corridor again.

They made their way to a large warehouse space.  The commanding officer yelled at them to get out of the way, and they bolted to the other side of the room, behind a line of guards, just as the Dalek entered the chamber.

It stopped and turned to them.  The light from the eyestalk changed and focused in on Rose.

"It's me," she whispered.  "It's following me.  Because I wasn't afraid."  She dashed out in front of the guards again.  "Stop, you have to stop!  Stop or it will kill all of you!"  The Dalek rolled a little closer to her, but two guards grabbed her arms and pulled her back again.  "No!  Please!  You have to listen!"  Adam grabbed her waist and pulled her down the corridor.  "Let go of me! It talked to me before, I can make it talk again!"

They heard the call to open fire, and Rose sagged in Adam's arms as the sound of gunshots poured over her.  Why wouldn't any of them just _listen_?

"Come on," Adam said quietly after a moment.  "There's nothing you can do now."

She glanced up at him before schooling her features and nodding and pulling away.

oOoOo

Rose's phone rang as they ran up another stairwell.

"Tell me you have good news," she shouted as she answered.

"Where are you?" he demanded.

"Level 49," she said with a sinking feeling.

"You've got to keep moving,” he told her.  “The vault's being sealed off, bulkhead level 46."

"Can't you stop them closing?" Rose asked desperately as she tried to push herself faster.  She couldn't do this again too.

"I'm the one who's closing them," he replied in a terse voice.  "I can't wait and I can't help you. Now for God's sake, run."

They sprinted up the stairs and out the doors at level 46, Adam a few feet ahead of Rose.

"We're nearly there, give us two seconds."

"Doctor, I can't sustain the power," Rose heard Van Statten say.  "The whole system is failing.  Doctor, you've got to close the bulkheads." 

She pleaded silently for the power to hold up just a little longer, for the Doctor to wait. 

"I'm sorry," he said.

She pulled the phone away from her ear with a growl and pushed herself further.  Once again, she thought longingly of the toned runner's body she'd had before coming back.  She pushed the thought away...it wouldn't help her now.

She was gaining on Adam as they turned another corner, but she could see the bulkhead ahead was already dangerously low.  Adam reached it first and rolled underneath—

She stopped when she reached it.  There was only a crack left.  She's be crushed if she tried.  She closed her eyes, and a few tears leaked out when the bulkhead closed with a resounding thud.

She couldn't be sure.  She never could.  There were things that had changed and things that hadn't, so she couldn't be sure.  For all she knew, the Dalek would wipe her out this time.

" _Rose? Rose! Did you make it?"_

She slowly pulled the phone up to her ear.  "I'm sorry, Doctor.  Still a bit slow.  Sealed in," she told him, glancing behind her to see the Dalek rolling around the corner.  "It wasn't you fault, Doctor.  None of it.  Remember that.  It wasn't your fault.  And Doctor, I—“ No, she couldn't say that.  It was too soon.  He couldn't process it.  She took a deep breath.  "I wouldn't have missed it for the world," she told him.  As the silence continued, she pulled the phone away from her ear again and turned to face the Dalek.

" **EX-TER-MI-NATE!** "


	16. Dalek part 2

" **EX-TER-MI-NATE!** "

The Doctor tore the ear piece off as he heard the pulse of the Dalek's death ray.  He felt a sharp pain in his chest reality sank in: Rose Tyler was dead.  Young, vibrant, brave, beautiful Rose was gone.  And it was completely his fault.  "I killed her," he murmured.

"I'm sorry," Van Statten said behind him.

"Don't you dare," he said darkly as he spun around to him.  "Don't you dare tell me you're sorry.  Because that implies that you can be forgiven.  I could've killed that Dalek in its cell. But you stopped me.  And now someone I—“ he stopped, his jaw tightening.  "Now Rose is dead," he said in a quieter voice.

"It was the prize of my collection!" Van Statten protested.

"Your collection?" the Doctor yelled, furious with the man.  "But was it worth it? Worth all those men's deaths? Worth Rose?"  Van Statten simply stared at him.  "Let me tell you something, Van Statten. Mankind goes into space to explore. To be part of something greater—“

"Exactly!" Van Statten cried, jumping to his feet.  "I wanted to touch the stars!"

"You just want to drag the stars down and stick them underground underneath tons of sand and dirt," he said contemptuously.  "And label them. You're about as far from the stars as you can get.  And you took her down with you."  He looked away, unable to stomach the sight of the man anymore.  "She was nineteen years old," he said softly.

In a less than three months, the young girl had worked her way into his hearts in a way he'd never really considered.  She argued with him, she laughed with him, and she talked with him, sometimes for hours at a time, about everything.  And she let him talk.  She never shied away, never judged him.  She was his best friend.  And now she was dead.  Because of him.

oOoOo

Rose slowly opened her eyes.  She still could.  She still had eyes.  She wasn't dead.  She breathed a sigh of relief.  Sometimes, things staying the same were alright, she decided.

"You don't have to do this," she said in a low voice, turning to the Dalek.  "You don't have to keep killing everybody."

" **I AM ARMED.  I WILL KILL.  IT IS MY PURPOSE**."

"It doesn't have to be!" she cried.  "They're all dead because of you!"

" **THEY ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF US**."

"And now what?" she asked quietly after a moment.  "What're you waiting for?"

" **I FEEL YOUR FEAR**."

"But Daleks never feel fear," she said slowly.  "They never feel anything."

" **DALEKS MUST NOT FEAR!** " It screamed, shooting at the wall on either side of her.  " **YOU GAVE ME LIFE.  WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU GIVEN ME?  I AM CONTAMINATED!** "

Daleks had one purpose, and one alone.  If it started to question that, it wasn't a Dalek anymore.  It was simply insane.  "I'm sorry," she said softly.

It watched her for a moment, then said " **THE DOCTOR CLOSED THE BULKHEAD**." it turned away from her. **"YOU WILL MAKE HIM OPEN IT.  YOU WILL STAND HERE.** "

It gestured beside itself, and Rose walked slowly up to it.  As soon as she was in place, the Dalek opened a visual link to where ever the Doctor was.

" **OPEN THE BULKHEAD OR ROSE TYLER DIES** ," the Dalek commanded.

As the Doctor turned, she saw shock, relief, and joy chase themselves across his face.  "You're alive!"

"Can't get rid of me," she said lightly, if a little shakily.

"I thought you were dead!" he cried.  She bit back a smile.  She knew they were in trouble if the Doctor was being redundant.

" **OPEN THE BULKHEAD**!"  The Doctor hesitated, his eyes on Rose.  " **WHAT USE ARE EMOTIONS** ," the Dalek continued, " **IF YOU WILL NOT SAVE THE WOMAN YOU LOVE**?"

The screen blinked out.  Rose swallowed hard, counting off the seconds in her head.  The bulkhead jerked and began to rise when she hit fifteen.  She smiled a little and shook her head before walking with the Dalek through the door.

"Don't kill them," she said the Dalek as they ascended in the lift.  "You don't have to.  You didn't kill me."

" **BUT WHY NOT**?" it asked, spinning its eyestalk around so fast Rose had to duck out of the way.  " **WHY ARE YOU ALIVE?  MY FUNCTION IS TO KILL.  WHAT AM I? _WHAT AM I_**?"

The doors opened, and the Dalek spun his eyestalk again to face Van Statten.

"Don't move," Rose warned him.  "Don't do anything, it's beginning to question itself."

" **VAN STATTEN.  YOU TORTURED ME.  WHY**?"

"I wanted to help you," the man replied, backing away in terror as the Dalek advanced on him.  "I just—I  don't know, I – I was just trying to help. I thought if we could get through to you, if we could mend you—I wanted you better, I'm sorry."  The Dalek backed him up against the wall, and his voice rose shrilly as he wailed, "I'm so sorry! I swear! I just wanted you to talk!"

" **THEN HEAR ME TALK NOW. EX-TER-MI-NATE!** "

"No!" Rose shouted as she rushed over.  The Dalek's eyestalk spun to her.  "Don't do this.  You're changing.  There must be something else now. Not just killing—what else is there?  What do you want?"

The Dalek's eyestalk spun to Van Statten, then back to her.  " **I WANT...FREEDOM** ," it said softly.

She nodded.  "Then that's what you're going to get," she said.  Van Statten opened his mouth to protest, but she leveled a fierce look at him.  "We're going," she told him, and walked back to the lift.

They came out on floor 01, and Rose walked beside the Dalek as it rolled around a corner.  It stopped and looked up at the ceiling before shooting its death ray at it, showering them with debris.  Rose ducked, then looked around.  They stood in a pool of sunlight.

"You're out," she said.  "You made it.  Never thought I'd see the sunlight again," she added, smiling.

" **HOW DOES IT FEEL**?"

Rose turned and watched as the Dalek casing opened up.  The creature inside was the stuff of nightmares, a genetic mutation gone terribly, terribly wrong.  But as it stretched out its feelers to the sun, Rose felt another pang of pity for the thing.  As far as it knew, it was the last of its kind, and because of her, it wasn't even that anymore.

"Get out of the way," a cold voice came from behind her.  Rose turned to see the Doctor holding a massive gun.  She stared at him.  "Rose, get out of the way, now!"

"Don't do this," she said quietly.

"That thing killed hundreds of people," he said darkly.

"I know," she said.  She took a few wary steps toward him.  "But right now, it's not the one pointing the gun at me."

"I've got to do this. I've got to end it. The Daleks destroyed my home, my people. I've got nothing left."

"I know," she said again.  "But look at it.  It doesn't want to kill.  It just wants to feel the sun for once."

"But it can't—“

"It couldn't kill Van Statten.  It couldn't kill me.  It's changing."  Rose watched him for a moment.  She couldn't let him kill something that wasn't fighting back.  He was still driven by hatred and anger…she had to make him see that he had to let it go before it consumed him.  She couldn't let him become of them.  She nodded at the gun.  "What are you changing into?"

He looked down at the gun, then back up at her.  He finally lowered it. "I couldn't...I wasn't..." He glanced at the Dalek then turned his eyes back to Rose.  "Oh, Rose.  They're all dead."

" **WHY DO WE SURVIVE**?"

"I don't know."

" **I AM THE LAST OF THE DALEKS**."

"You're not even that," the Doctor told it.  "Rose did more than regenerate you. You absorbed her DNA. You're mutating."

" **INTO WHAT**?"

"Something new. I'm sorry."

It was quiet for a moment, considering this.  " **I CAN FEEL SO MANY IDEAS**. **SO MUCH DARKNESS.  ROSE. GIVE ME ORDERS! ORDER ME TO DIE.** "  Rose hesitated.  She knew that the Dalek would never be happy, it never could, unless it was killing things, and then it wasn't so much happy as devoid of anything other than hate.  " **THIS IS NOT LIFE** ," it continued when she stayed silent.  " **THIS IS SICKNESS**.  **I SHALL NOT BE LIKE YOU.  ORDER MY DESTRUCTION! OBEY! OBEY! OBEY!** "

"Do it," she said finally, backing away.  "Destroy yourself, Dalek."

" **ARE YOU FRIGHTENED, ROSE TYLER**?"

"Yeah," she choked out.

" **SO AM I**.  **EX-TER-MI-NATE**!"

She ran to the Doctor as the Dalek replaced its armor.  The Doctor put an arm around her as the Dalek levitated into the air and the golden knobs on its casing detached themselves to surround the Dalek in a sphere.  The sphere glowed briefly, then the Dalek exploded, vanishing completely.  The Doctor and Rose stood together for a moment in stunned silence.

oOoOo

Ten minutes later, they stood together outside the TARDIS.  The Doctor looked thoughtful, but Rose just felt shell shocked.  Nothing had changed, and it wasn't because of fixed points in time, or Time Lord guilt, or her own inability to be in two places at once.  No, this one came down solely to stupidity, the unwillingness of people to listen.  She had shouted herself hoarse at the people here, and it had changed nothing.  They were all dead, because they couldn't bloody listen.

"Little piece of home," the Doctor said, breaking into her thoughts as he reached up to pat the TARDIS.  "Better than nothing."

"So the Time War is over now?"

"I'm the only one left," he said. "I win. How about that."

"Would you know?" she asked him.  "If any other Time Lords survived, would you know?"

"Yeah.  In here," he said, tapping the side of his head.  "Feels like there's no one."

She looked at him curiously.  She knew they were telepathic, but he’d never actually explained that statement before.

“So Time Lords can feel all the other Time Lords in their heads?” she asked.  He nodded.  “What, all the time?  People in your head _all the time_?”

“It’s not like we intruded on other people’s thoughts,” he said defensively, then frowned.  “Well, usually not.  And some weren’t as strong as others.  But yeah, I could always feel them all, somewhere in the back of my mind.”

“It must be so lonely in there now,” she said sadly, taking his hand as she realized for the first time the enormity of what he’d lost.  “I’m so sorry, Doctor.”  He stared down at her, his eyes looking suspiciously moist, as he opened his mouth to say something.  Nothing came out, so he snapped it shut again and swallowed hard, squeezing her hand.  "Well," she said with forced cheer and a tight smile, "good thing I'm not going anywhere."

"Yeah," he agreed after a moment, twitching his lips.

"We'd better get out," Adam said, jogging up to them and breaking the moment.  "Van Statten's disappeared…they're closing down the base. Goddard says they're going to fill it full of cement! Like it never existed!"

"Good riddance," Rose said with feeling.

"I'll have to go back home," Adam said a little sadly.

"Better hurry up then," the Doctor told him.  "Next flight to Heathrow leaves at 1500 hours."

Rose studied Adam critically.  He really wasn't a _bad_ person...a little young and irresponsible maybe, but not bad.  If she kept him away from her phone and the TARDIS key… "Adam was saying that all his life he's wanted to see the stars."

"Tell him to go and stand outside, then," the Doctor said.

"He's all on his own, Doctor," she said.  "And he did help."

"He left you down there!" he cried, pulling his hand away from hers.

"So did you,” she reminded him.

"What're you talking about?" Adam cried. "We've got to leave!"

The Doctor was looking at Rose.  "Rose, he's a bit pretty," he said finally.

"I hadn't noticed," she said, honestly this time.  _Because he's not you_ , she added in her head.

"On your own head," he said finally, turning into the TARDIS.  She followed quickly while she heard Adam shouting outside.  She grinned as the Doctor took up the controls.  If he made it, fine.  If not…

"What the hell is this place?" Adam asked in amazement when he darted inside.

"It's a box," she told him.  He stared at her, and the Doctor smirked.  "A very, very big box.  And now, we're going to see the universe."


	17. Catch-22

Rose opened her eyes to find herself in the library.  She hadn’t fallen asleep in here this time, she was sure of that.  It was dim, lit only by the roaring fire in the fire place.  There was someone standing in the shadows, but it was too dark to make out any features.

“Hello?” she called.

The figure stepped into the light slowly.  It was her, wearing the outfit she’d been wearing the last day in the parallel world.

“Oh, you’ve got to be joking,” Rose said, sitting up straighter on the sofa.

“I thought you might want to talk,” the TARDIS said slowly.

“I’m dreaming, right?”

“Technically, yes,” the TARDIS confirmed.  “But this is also actually happening, in that fun interdimensional way I have of existing.”

“Yeah, fun,” Rose muttered.

“You’re upset,” the TARDIS remarked as she sat down in an armchair.

“Oh, upset doesn’t even begin to cover what I’m feeling right now,” Rose assured her with a glare.

The TARDIS nodded.  “I know that you can’t see it now, but—“

“But nothing!” Rose suddenly exploded, jumping to her feet.  “You brought me here to change everything.  Well, I can’t.  I can’t do it.  Gwyneth is still dead, and all those people at the museum because even when I KNEW what to do, how to change it, there was a bloody loose wire, wasn’t there?  And then no one would listen.  I know all these things, all these simple little facts that could keep everyone from dying, but I can’t tell anyone, because then it would destroy everything, so they all die anyway.  If I can’t change any of the small stuff, how am I supposed to believe I can change the big things?  How’m I gonna stop Canary Wharf?” The TARDIS opened her mouth to speak, but Rose barreled on, pacing while she ranted. “And you!  Where the hell have you been?  I get a couple of tingles in the back of my head when I first come back, and then nothing for almost three months.  I’ve been stumbling around, trying save people and keep the Doctor from knowing what I’ve done, and you’ve been in the back of my mind completely silent.  So yes, yes I’m a little upset.”

The TARDIS watched her carefully as she stood in front of the fireplace, eyes blazing and chest heaving.  “Are you done now?” she asked finally.

Rose opened her mouth, but found she had nothing else to say.  She slumped into another armchair. “Yes.”

“Alright,” the TARDIS said, nodding as she wiggled into a more comfortable position.  She started counting off thoughts on her fingers.  “One, I’ve been here, but there’s only so much I can do.  Our link is only a weak echo of what it was before you were lost, and it took an enormous amount of power to communicate with you then.  Now, it takes a lot just to send you tingles.  But I did send them when you needed them most…to reassure you when you first came back, and to make sure he asked you twice.  If you really tried anything that would permanently muck things up, I would have warned you.  Though I must say, putting up such a fierce argument about the Gelth was borderline,” the TARDIS said, looking at her sharply.  “But I understand.  You want to save everyone.  But you’re not seeing the big picture.”

“But—“

“Nope, my turn to talk,” the TARDIS said, holding up a hand.  “You’re focused on the people who have died, quite understandably after the whole Dalek episode.  But you’re not seeing the people you have saved.  Jabe, and the Moxx of Balhoon, and Ingra Ganesh, and all those people who would have died in the streets when the Nestene started transmitting.  They’re all alive because of you.”

“But I can’t—“

“But it’s not even about them,” the TARDIS interrupted her again.  “You are compassionate, and you want to help everyone, but this isn’t about them.  You being able to keep some of them alive this time around is a bonus.  A very LARGE bonus,” she added quickly when Rose looked mutinous again, “but a bonus nonetheless.”

“So what is it about then?” Rose asked, feeling completely lost.

“You came back so that you could save each other,” the TARDIS said simply.  “There are…so many things already set in motion that you aren’t going to see for a while.  For you, for the Doctor, for your shared existence.  He already feels closer to you then he did at this point last time.  That’s why he’s already told you more about himself.  Trusting you with that will make him trust you with so much more, as well as counteract his suspicions for the time being.  And you...you already understand him so much more than you realize.  You understand the pain of not being able to change things you already know are doomed, no matter how much you fight.  You know what it’s like to step into a place and already know whether good things or bad things will happen, and the likelihood of changing things.  He feels that _all the time_.” Rose shuddered.  “Once you take in the Time Vortex…” the TARDIS trailed off, uncertain.

“What?  What’s going to happen?”

“It’s…uncertain.  Things are changing, because you’re changing them.  But know this: you’re doing what you came here to do.  It was never about anyone else.  It was about saving yourself so you could save him so that you could save each other.”

“Can I really stop it though?  Canary Wharf?”

“Oh, my Wolf…I wish I could give you certainties,” she said sadly.  “But you know that nothing in life is definite, even a life you’ve lived before.”

 “What about the Doctor?” Rose asked.  “You said he already had suspicions.  The Face of Boe said the same thing.”

“They’re not…concrete.  He doesn’t know what to make of you.  The strangeness of your reactions is a factor of interest for him, but not yet one of concern, except for when he’s arguing with himself about his feelings for you.  But the day will come when he will confront you about it.”

“Won’t he be angry?” Rose asked, trying to ignore the warm feeling she got when _his_ feelings were mentioned.

“Most definitely,” the TARDIS said, but smiled.  “Lucky for you, I’m here to help.  And I will, I promise you.  You will not be alone.”

Rose was quiet as she tried to absorb everything the TARDIS was telling her.  “So, on the whole…”

“On the whole, you are doing exactly what you’re here to do,” the TARDIS told her firmly.  “Keep faith, my Wolf.  Things are not nearly as bleak as you think.”

oOoOo

The Doctor sat in the library, attempting to read _Catch-22_ again, because it was one of the few books that kept up with his attention span, and he needed something to occupy him while Rose and the pretty boy slept.  Unfortunately, he found himself seeing not the page, but the day he had gone through with Rose.

His hearts constricted every time he remembered those few moments where he thought he had lost her.  He had been ready to pound the pretty boy when he walked into the office so calmly after leaving Rose to die in front of a bulkhead the Doctor himself had closed.  That anger had been the only thing keeping him from dropping to his knees in the face of that loss and the accompanying guilt.

Then the visual link had popped up, and it was dizzying relief that almost drove him to his knees.  The fact that she was still held at gunpoint was a matter for concern, yes, but she was _alive_.  The emotions that filled him at the very sight of her terrified him, especially when a Dalek, of all things in the universe, gave a name to them.

_“What use are emotions if you cannot save the woman you love?”_

Did he love her?  No, that wasn’t possible.  Not the way that was implied by the statement, anyway.  He couldn’t.  True, it hadn’t even taken a second’s thought for him to open the bulkhead after it said that.  And true, he’d bit off a sentence that would have ended similarly while he raged at Van Statten.  But he was a Time Lord.  Time Lords don’t fall in love, especially not with apes.  Especially when said apes poked and prodded at Time Lords and made them talk about all sorts of things that should never be talked about with anyone, and _especially_ when the ape in question refused to act the way she was supposed to in any kind of situation and instead acted smart and fearless and looked up at him with beautiful hazel eyes that seemed to see into his very soul…and could almost make him believe he still had one.

She’d asked him what he was changing into.  Her, of all people.  The one who could make him believe, with one look, that he wasn’t a monster…she’d asked him that.  What was worse, he didn’t have an answer.  The rage and hatred that had been born in him during the war were always so close to the surface, so close to consuming him completely.  What scared him, what absolutely terrified him, was how much her opinion of him mattered.  He wanted to be someone she could be proud of rather than frightened by.

He growled in frustration and threw the book across the room.  What did he care what she thought of him, really?  He could be whoever he wanted, and if she didn’t like it, she could leave.  That’s how it went, that’s how it had always gone.  He had rules about this sort of thing, clear and set boundaries between him and his companions, and it had never been a problem.  But none of the others had been _her_.  What right did she have, being so extraordinary that after three months in her presence he even had to question himself about this at all?

With no answers forthcoming, he sighed and picked up the book before returning to the sofa and attempting, once again, to bury himself in Yossarian’s dilemma and ignore his own.  He looked up in surprise when Rose walked into the library with a cup of tea a few minutes later.  _That’s just cheating_ , he thought darkly.

“You know, if you try to compete with me for who can survive on less sleep, you’re gonna lose,” he commented as she curled up next to him on the sofa.  She smiled a little while she blew on her tea.  “More bad dreams?”

“Um…no,” she said with an odd look.  “Good dream, I think.  Just…thought provoking.”

“Can’t even manage to dream like a normal person,” he snorted.

“Guess not,” she said with a laugh, apparently choosing to ignore the slightly scornful tone.  She looked up at him and studied him.  “You alright?”

“Fine,” he said quickly, eyes quickly going back to his book.

“You sure?”

He gave her a sidelong look.  “Rose, I nearly got you killed by one of the most dangerous species in the entire universe.  You shouldn’t be asking if I’m alright.”  His eyes went back to his book for a moment, then he sighed and looked up at her.  “Are you alright?”

“I’m…angry…because all those people had to die simply because they wouldn’t listen,” she said.  “It was just all so…unnecessary.”  One hand went to the back of her neck, massaging at a tension point brought on by the memory, and she sighed.  “But yes, other than that, I’m alright.”

He considered her carefully.  She had screamed at the guards; he could hear her through the commander’s earpiece.  She had been trying to make them let her talk to it.  They’d understandably denied her, but her talking to the thing had been what had saved the rest of them in the end.  “Welcome to my world,” he finally said softly.

She looked up at him sharply, a strange expression on her face.  She opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to reconsider.  She shifted her gaze to the fire, and, after a moment, he went back to his book.  Some of his tension, if not his confusion, began ebbing away, as it always seemed to when she was around.  They sat together in comfortable silence for several minutes.

“You’re not like it, you know,” Rose said suddenly.

He looked up at her, confused.  “Not like what?”

“The Dalek,” she said.  “You’re not like it.”

He eyed her warily.  “And what makes you say that?”

“Well, for one, you’re not a blob armed in metal…just leather,” she said with that teasing smile of hers as she poked at his jacket.  He couldn’t help letting out a slightly startled laugh.  “For two…they’re created to hate and destroy, and it’s all they ever crave.  You…those feelings developed in you in the heat of battle, and everything you’ve done since has been to make up for that.”

He stared at her.  She had somehow encapsulated the majority of what he feared and hoped about himself into one sentence of description.  “But those feelings are still there, regardless of where they came from,” he said slowly.  “I’m not sure that anything else will make them go away.  I wanted to destroy that thing the minute I realized what it was, and I would have blown it away long after it had stopped fighting if it wasn’t for you standing in my way.”

“Well, that’s something else you have that they don’t then,” she replied.  He raised his eyebrows curiously.  “Someone to stand in your way before you lose yourself…and someone to help you find your way back if you do.”

Again, he found himself staring at her.  If she had any idea what she was offering, any idea how badly he needed it…

And in that moment, he surrendered.  He refused to put a name to anything, or to examine his feelings, or argue with himself anymore right now.  Right now, he would just accept that Rose was here, and she was fantastic.

“Suppose I do,” he said softly.  “Thank you.”

He moved the arm nearest her to rest on the back of the couch, and smiled when she scooted over and cuddled into him, resting her head on his shoulder.  He went back to his book, and before long noticed Rose’s breathing change, becoming slower and more steady.  He took the mug from her unresisting hand before it crashed to the floor and rearranged them both into a more comfortable position, him reclining back with her head against his chest.  He chuckled a little when she immediately cuddled into him again before going back to his book.

He didn’t notice when it slipped from his fingers as he fell into the first peaceful sleep in a long time.


	18. The Long Game, part 1

Rose followed the Doctor out of the TARDIS eagerly.  She already had a plan for the parts of this particular adventure that she could change, and she couldn't help feeling a little excited about getting the opportunity to introduce someone else to space again.

"So, it's 200,000," the Doctor told her, looking around.  "It's a spaceship—no, wait a minute, space station—and uh...go and try that gate over there. Off you go!" He took a step back and leaned against the TARDIS, smiling at her.

"'Kay," she said happily before turning to the TARDIS and opening the door again.  "Adam," she called, tugging on his sleeve a little, "out you come."

 Adam stepped out, and his mouth dropped open.  He stared around at the large room looking completely gobsmacked.  "Oh my god," he whispered.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," she assured him.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Good question," she told him, all knowledgeable tour guide.  She looked around theatrically.  "Let's see…judging by the architecture, I'd say we're around the year 200,000."  Adam nodded a little.  "Right.  And if you listen...you can hear engines.  We're on some sort of space station. Yeah. Definitely a space station. It's a bit warm in here, they could turn the heating down," she added to the Doctor.  He raised his eyebrows at her, then nodded to the gate.  "Tell you what," she said, looking back at Adam, "let's try that gate. Come on!"

She walked over to the gate and opened it before scrambling onto the observation deck beyond.  The Doctor and Adam quickly followed.  They were faced with a panoramic view of the Earth, with grand cities stretching across land and water alike.  She thought again about how this part of their adventures would simply never get old.

"I'll let the Doctor take over here," she said quietly as the Time Lord came to her side, Adam a little ways behind them.

"The Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire," he said, his gaze sweeping over the planet below.  "And there it is. Planet Earth at its height. Covered with mega-cities, five moons - population 96 billion. The hub of a galactic domain, stretching across a million planets, a million species, with mankind right in the middle."

Behind them, Rose heard Adam let out a little sigh before the thud of him hitting the ground.  Neither of them turned around.

"He's your boyfriend," the Doctor said, a little disgusted.

"Not likely," she said flatly.

She might not be able to have the Doctor yet, or even ever, but she was definitely never going to settle for a boy that fainted at the sight of all that was glorious in the universe.  No matter _how_ pretty he was.

After bringing Adam to, they made their way off the observation deck back into the common area.

"Come on, Adam. Open your mind," he said, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders.  "You're gonna like this fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent - culture, art, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners—“

"Out of the way!" someone yelled, blundering past them.  Suddenly, the area sprung to life around them.  A food stall was set up, and the room was filled with chatter as people bustled and joined the queue.

Rose moved forward carefully to examine the food at the stall, and turned back to the Doctor with a sour look.  "Fine cuisine?"

"My watch must be wrong," he said with a frown, tapping it and bringing it up to his ear.  "No, it's fine...weird..."

"Something's wrong?" she asked.

"Maybe…" he murmured indecisively, looking around.

"They're all human," Adam remarked.  "What about the millions of planets? The millions of species? Where are they?"

"Good question," the Doctor said slowly, then looked at Adam in surprise.  "Actually, that _is_ a good question."  His eyes narrowed for a second before he looked at Adam, switching gears at light speed.  "Adam, me old mate," he said jovially, again placing his arm around the boy's shoulders.  "You must be starving."

"No, I'm just a bit time sick," Adam replied weakly.

"Nah, you just need a bit of grub," the Doctor assured him before turning to the purveyor of the food stand.  "Oi, mate, how much is a cronk burger?"

"Two credits twenty, sweetheart," the man informed him.  "Now, join the queue."

"Money. We need money."  The Doctor grinned sheepishly at Rose as she clicked her tongue.  "Have to use a cash point."

Adam and Rose followed him as he hurried over to a cash point and tapped it with his sonic screwdriver.  A thin metal bar dropped out, and the Doctor handed it to Adam.

"There you go—pocket money," he said.  "Don't spend it all on sweets."

"How does it work?" Adam asked him as the Doctor started walking away.

"Go and find out," the Doctor urged him.  "Stop nagging me! The thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers…or is that just me?" he added as Rose snorted and Adam frowned.  "Stop asking questions, go on, do it," he said, shooing them away.

Adam turned and started walking away, but Rose hovered uncertainly.  She wanted to keep Adam in her sights, but she wasn't sure she wanted to leave the Doctor.

"Go on then," the Doctor said after a beat.  "First date and all."

"Oh, it is not," Rose scoffed.  She rolled her eyes when his eyebrows raised, clearly disbelieving her.  "Fine, I'll go keep him company while you figure out what's wrong.  Don't wander too far without me, yeah?"

"Promise," he said with a grin.

She frowned at him, then shook her head and walked away to the sound of his laughter.

oOoOo

As the Doctor watched Rose head over to the pretty boy, the laughter died in his throat.  He still remembered well the argument he’d had with himself regarding one Rose Tyler.  Somehow, Adam didn’t factor in as one of his arguments against having feelings for the girl.  Not until later, anyway.  After they’d woken up together on the sofa in the library, he’d departed quickly, not wanting to focus on any ramifications of hours spent with her in his arms.  When he’d finally had the courage to face her again, he had found laughing it up in the pool with the pretty boy.  When he saw that, her acting so…human, the way she was supposed to, he’d locked down any further examination of how he felt.  In the long run, he realized, it didn’t really matter how he felt.  She would never return those feelings, if they did in fact exist, regardless of how caring she could be sometimes.  That was just who she was.  She might even go so far as to think of him as a good friend, but nothing more.  He was too old, too broken, too _alien_ for her to have any stronger feelings for him.  And that was how it should be.  He could never give her what she wanted.  And apparently, she wanted pretty boy…her denial, he was convinced, was just part of the game.  Good for her…even if the boy could never deserve her.

He shook off his thoughts and focused on the problem at hand, this issue with the Empire not being nearly what it should be right now.  He went off to ask questions, stamping down the feelings that absolutely could not be jealousy.

oOoOo

"Try this," Rose said, thrusting a styrofoam cup at Adam.  "It's called _Zaphic_ , it's nice. It's like a slush puppy."

"What flavor?"

"Uh..." She tasted it again.  "Sort of, beef?"

"Oh, my God..." Adam moaned, shaking his head when Rose laughed.

They had taken a table by the food cart.  Rose had already found the Doctor, talking to two "journalists"—Suki and Cathica, if she remembered right.  Now she was trying to settle Adam down, acclimate him to space travel.

"It's like everything's gone," he was saying.  "Home, family...everything."

"Not really a big picture sort, are you, Adam?" she asked.

"How do you mean?"

"You're here, in space, 198,000 years in your future," she explained, "but another hop in the TARDIS, and we're back there, with your family.  It's all a bit more...wibbly wobbly than people think."  Adam simply stared at her.  She chewed her lip for a moment, then heaved a sigh.  "Here, this should help," she said, pulling out her phone reluctantly.  "Call your folks."

"But...it's like you said, that's 198 _thousand_ years ago," he protested.

"Just dial," she said wearily.

"Is there a code, or—“ She leveled a look at him.  He swallowed hard and dialed.  His face changed to one of happy surprise when the other end started ringing.  "It's on the hook!  Uh, hi.  It's…it's me," he said, obviously talking to an ansaphone.  "I've sort of gone…travelling.  I met these people…and we've gone travelling together. But, um…I'm fine…and I'll call you later. Love you. Bye."  He hung up and stared at the phone before looking back up at Rose.  "That is just—“

He was cut off as an alarm sounded around them.  The canteen area started to empty out as people rushed away.

"Oi!" the Doctor called.  "Mutt and Jeff!  Over here!"

They both got up, but Rose turned back to Adam before moving away.

"Phone," she said sweetly, holding out her hand.

Adam started guiltily, then nodded a little sheepishly and handed it to her.  Feeling triumphant about this small but significant change to her day, she skipped off to the Doctor.

oOoOo

They were taken to a sterile looking circular room.  A group of people took up places around a low table, each sitting on a cushion in front of silver mounds with handprints in them.  The Doctor stood with Adam and Rose, leaning on some rails near the door.

"Now, everybody, behave," Cathica warned them.  "We have a management inspection.  How do you want it? By the book?" she asked the Doctor.

"Oh, right from scratch, thanks," the Doctor told her.  He and Rose smirked at each other as she turned away.

"Ok, so...ladies, gentlemen, multisex, undecided or robot…”

Rose tuned out the rigmarole of introduction, looking around the room.  She wondered idly if there was a way she could save Suki without alerting everyone else, specifically the Doctor.  Try as she might, she couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t sound completely daft, and she made a frustrated noise, causing the Doctor to glance down at her.  She just shook her head and focused back on what was happening in the center of the room.

Cathica clicked her fingers, and a door opened in her forehead, revealing her brain, and the seated group brought their hands down on the silver pads.  The Doctor and Rose both recoiled in disgust, but Rose didn't miss the way Adam leaned forward ever so slightly to get a better look. 

"And 3…2…and spike," Cathica said, and a blue light spiked down from a device above the chair directly into her brain.

"Compressed information, streaming into her," the Doctor said thoughtfully. Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain _is_ the computer."

"She doesn’t remember all that, does she?" Rose asked him, watching the girl carefully.

"Nah, it's too much," the Doctor said, circling around the table with Rose close behind.  "The brain's the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets."

"So, what about all these people round the edge?" she asked, kneeling down to peer at one of them.

"They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her, and they transmit 600 channels. Every single fact in the empire beams out of this place."  He leaned against the rails again, having done a complete circuit of the room, and watched them.  "Now, that's what I call power," he said.

"You alright?" Rose asked Adam, who had been silently staring at Cathica for some time.

"I can see her brain," he said.

"Yeah, I expect you think that's a bit weird," she commented.  Maybe if she made a point of saying that, he wouldn't try to do it.  Maybe a bit redundant, since she’d already taken the phone, but still, every little bit helps.  "Do you want to get out?"

"No, no…This is technology, it's…it's amazing."  Maybe not.

"This technology's wrong," the Doctor said darkly.

"Trouble?" she asked, a little embarrassed at how hopeful she sounded.

The Doctor didn't miss it.  He caught her eye and smiled at her.  "Oh yeah."

Just then, Suki gave a little gasp and pulled her hands off her pad as though she'd been shocked.  The information stream stopped short, and the door in Cathica's head closed before she opened her eyes.

"Come off it, Suki," she said angrily.  "I wasn't even halfway, what was that for?"

The other girl shrugged, rubbing her hands.  "Sorry, must've been a glitch…"

Suddenly, a projection sprang to life on the wall as a loud speaker said, " _Promotion_."

The Doctor and Rose exchanged a glance as Cathica continued to plead with the powers that be.

" _Promotion for... Suki Macrae Cantrell_."

As the words flashed on the wall, Suki's mouth dropped open, while Cathica looked like she'd swallowed a bug.

" _Please proceed to Floor 500_ ," the computer voice continued.

"I don't believe it…Floor 500…" Suki said in awe.

"How the hell did you manage that?" Cathica asked angrily.  "I'm above you!"

"I don't know, I just applied on the off-chance," Suki said, still staring at the screen.  "And they've said yes!"

"That's so not fair," Cathica spat.  "I've been applying to Floor 500 for three years!"

"Floor 500…" Rose murmured, looking at the Doctor.

"Where the walls are made of gold," he finished for her, still watching the two journalists.

oOoOo

They stayed with Cathica and Suki as the latter gathered up her things to take with her to Floor 500.

"Cathica, I'm gonna miss you," Suki told her former superior, who still looked a little sullen. "Floor 500…Thank you!" she said to the Doctor.

"I didn't do anything!" he protested.

"Well, you're my lucky charm!" she told him, smiling.

"All right! I'll hug anyone!"  Which he proceeded to do, ignoring Rose's snort.  She well remembered all the women he'd "hugged" during their time together.   She couldn't help arching her eyebrow a little as she watched the giggling girl hug her Doctor.

She glanced over and saw Adam seated a short distance away, much like he had been last time.

"Come on, it's not that bad," she soothed, making her way over to him.

"What, with the…the head thing?"

"Yeah, _very_ dodgy," she said, trying to drive the point home.  "But she's closed it now."

"Yeah but…it's everything," he said.  "It freaks me out. And I just need to…if I could just…cool down. Sort of, acclimatize," he said, floundering a bit.

Rose chewed her lip.  She really wasn't sure she wanted to let him out of her sight just yet.  "How d'you mean?" she asked warily.

"Maybe…I could just go and sit on the observation deck? Would that be all right?" he asked hesitantly.  "Soak it in, you know, pretend I'm a citizen of the year 200 000."

"I'll come with you," she agreed, nodding.

"No, no, you stick with the Doctor. You'd rather be with him," he said when she hesitated.  He stood up and nudged her side.   "It's gonna take a better man than me to get between you two," he said.  "Anyway…I'll be on the deck."

"Alright then…just don't wander off or anything," she warned him.  He nodded and walked off toward the way they had come in.

"Oh, my God, I've got to go," Suki was saying as she made her way back over to the group.  "I can't keep them waiting—“

"You sure you want to do this?" Rose asked her, watching her carefully.  The other three gave her strange looks.  "I just mean, you know, big promotion over your superiors…might be harder than it's worth, yeah?"

"It's not like I can say no," Suki said, bewildered.  "And this means more money for my sister in Uni."  She glanced at the lift again.  "Look, I'm sorry, I've really got to go," she said, rushing over to it.  It pinged, and she stepped inside.  "I'm sorry!  Say goodbye to Steve for me!  Bye!"

The Doctor and Rose waved at her, but Cathica looked away sourly.

"Good riddance," she spat.

"You're talking like you'll never see her again," the Doctor remarked.  "She's only going upstairs."

"We won't," Cathica said, with the air of someone talking to a five year old.  "Once you go to Floor 500 you never come back."

He frowned at the lift before following Cathica through the canteen area.  "Have you ever been up there?"

"No," Cathica said.  "You need a key for the lift, and you only get a key with promotion. No one gets to 500 except for the chosen few."

They continued following her under the guise of management, the Doctor peppering her with questions.  She put up with it for a time, but as they entered the spike chamber again, she got fed up.

"Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance, can't you give it a rest?"

"But you've never been to another floor?" he asked, reclining in the chair she had vacated earlier, while Rose leaned against the back.  "Not even one floor down?"

"I went to floor 16 when I first arrived," she told them.  "That's medical, that's when I got my head done, and then I came straight here. Satellite Five—you work, eat and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all."  She eyed them suspiciously.  "You're not management, are you?"

"At last, she's clever!" cried the Doctor.

"Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me," Cathica stated after a moment.  "I don't know anything."

"Don't you even ask?" Rose asked her.  She couldn't understand working in a place like this and never asking any questions about it.  First one being, why have I got to have a bloody door in my head?

"Well, why would I?"

"You're a journalist," said the Doctor, as if this should be obvious.  "Why's all the crew human?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"There's no aliens on board," the Doctor noted, ignoring her question.  "Why?"

"I don't know—no real reason, they're not banned or anything," she said, looking a little confused.

"Then where are they?" he asked, looking around theatrically.

"I suppose immigration's tightened up," she said, shrugging.  "It's had to, what with all the threats."

"What threats?" the Doctor probed.

"I don't know…all of them," Cathica replied defensively.  "Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled so that kept the visitors away…"  Rose and the Doctor watched her intently as she floundered for an answer.  "Oh, and the government on Traffic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see…just…lots of little reasons, that's all."

"Adding up to one great big fact," the Doctor said.  "And you didn't even notice."

"Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it," Cathica said.  "We see everything."

"I can see better," he told her.  "This society's the wrong shape. Even the technology."

"It's cutting edge!" she cried.

"It's daft!" Rose burst out.  "There's a great big bloody door in your head.  This whole system should have been chucked out ages ago!"  She took a breath and looked down at the Doctor to see him watching her with an arched brow.  "What do you think is going on?"

"It's not just this space station," the Doctor said.  "It's the whole attitude. It's the way people think. The great and bountiful human empire's stunted. Something's holding it back."

"And how would you know?"

"Trust me," he assured her.  "Humanity's been set back about 90 years…when did Satellite Five start broadcasting?"

Cathica’s eyes widened.  “91 years ago…”


	19. The Long Game, part 2

"We're _so_ gonna get in trouble," Cathica said anxiously as the Doctor attempted to sonic his way into through a door to the mainframe.  "You're not allowed to touch the mainframe, you're gonna get told off."

"Rose, tell her to button it," the Doctor said, sounding a little whiny.

“Button it,” Rose said as Cathica opened her mouth again, so the other girl just sort of sputtered.  The Doctor flashed a grin at Rose as he got into the mainframe and started poking around at the wires inside.

"This has nothing to do with me," Cathica said after a moment, throwing her hands up and taking a few steps away. "I'm going back to work."

"Go on then!" the Doctor said.  "See ya!"

"I can't just leave you, can I!" she yelled, turning back to them.

“If you wanna be useful, figure out a way to turn the heating down,” Rose suggested.  “Haven’t you ever wondered about the temperature?”

"I don't know, we keep asking—something to do with the turbine," Cathica informed them.

"’Something to do with the turbine’," the Doctor mocked.

"Well, I don't know!"

"Exactly! I give up on you, Cathica," he said, spinning around to face her.  "Now, Rose—look at Rose."  He beamed down at her as she straightened and smiled.  "Rose is asking the right kind of questions."

"Oh, thank you," she said in an affected accent.

"Why's it so hot?" he snapped, going back to his work.

"One minute you're worried about the Empire and the next it's the central heating!" cried Cathica.

"Well, never underestimate plumbing," the Doctor told her.  "Plumbing's very important."

With a tug, he snapped a bundle of wires, and glanced at her.  Cathica spun away from him, exasperated.  The Doctor worked for a few minutes longer, then stepped away, pulling a monitor on a swivel arm out with him.

"Here we go," he said.  "Satellite Five. Pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout." He moved to stand behind Cathica while she examined the screen.

"This is ridiculous," she said.  "You've got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange…and you're looking at pipes?"

"What's wrong with them?" Rose asked.  The Doctor glanced at her.  "You don't pull up anything on screens for no reason."  He smirked.

"Cathica?"  He nodded at the monitor, and watched as she examined it closer.

"The ventilation system," Cathica said slowly.  "Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out…channeling massive amounts of heat DOWN."

"All the way from the top," the Doctor said as she glanced up.

"Floor 500,” Rose said.

"Something up there is generating tons and tons of heat," he said.

"Well, I don't know about you," Rose said, "but I feel like I'm missing out on a party. It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?"

"You can't, you need a key," Cathica protested.

"Keys are just codes, and I've got the codes right here," he explained, tapping a few keys.  "Here we go—override 215.9."

"How come it's giving you the code?"

"Someone up there likes me," he said, looking up at a security camera.  His eyes narrowed a little before moving swiftly off to the lifts.  Rose and Cathica followed quickly.  The Doctor and Rose bundled into the lift, but Cathica stayed outside, watching them warily.

"Come on, come with us!" called Rose.  "You might be able to do some good."

"No way!"

"Bye!" the Doctor said with a cheerful wave.

"But…after all you've seen, all the Doctor's said…" Rose tried.

"Just don't mention my name," the girl said.  "When you get in trouble, just don't involve me!"  With that, she stalked off, eager to get away from the supposed troublemakers.

"That's her gone," the Doctor said, looking down at her.  "Adam's given up. Looks like it's just you and me."

"Yeah,” Rose agreed, smiling up at him.

"Good," he said as he pushed the button for the lift and took her hand, tugging her a step closer.

"Yep."  _The old team_.

When the doors opened again, they stared out into what looked like an enclosed arctic wasteland.  Frost spread over everything, and Rose's breath came out in puffs as she shivered.

"The walls are not made of gold," the Doctor commented as they stepped out of the lift.  "You should go back downstairs."

"No chance," she said, moving further out onto the floor.  The Doctor followed after watching her a moment.

They made their way through the floor, and eventually Rose recognized the Editor's room.  She shook her head sadly when she saw Suki in front of one of the screens, already beyond her help.

"I started without you," the Editor said.  "This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but _you_ two…you don't exist!"  The Doctor and Rose stared him down, and he laughed.  "Not a trace! No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss. How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?"

"Suki," Rose said quietly, nodding to the girl.  The Doctor looked over, and frowned.

"She's dead," he said flatly.  "They've all got chips in their head, and the chips keep going. Like puppets,"  he added, running his gaze over the line of workers.

"Ohhhh! You're full of information!" the Editor said happily, and the Doctor smirked.  "But it's only fair we get information back, because apparently, you're no one."  He laughed, watching the Doctor.  "It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter, 'cause we're off," the Doctor told him.  "Nice to meet you.  Come on," he said to Rose, but as they tried to turn, several drones got up and held them back.

"Tell me who you are!" the Editor demanded.

"Since that information's keeping us alive, I'm hardly gonna say, am I?" the Doctor snapped.

"Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise," the Editor said.

"And who's that?"

"It may interest you to know that this is NOT the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire," he said.  "In fact, it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place where humans happen to live."  Rose heard the growling above them and groaned.  "Yeah, sorry. It's a place where humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client."  He snapped his fingers and pointed upwards to the ceiling.  Rose looked at the Jagrafess in disgust as bits of slime dropped off when it snapped its teeth.

"You mean, that thing's in charge of Satellite Five?" the Doctor asked, alarmed.

"That 'thing', as you put it, is in charge of the human race," the Editor said.  "For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by its broadcast news. Edited by my superior – your master – and humanities guiding light – the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe.  I call him Max," he simpered as the Jagrafess roared.

As more drones attempted to manhandle them into the strange, double restraint harness that Rose remembered, and her mind raced.  He wouldn't outright kill them without knowing who they were.  Journalistic integrity or whatever.  Adam couldn't call home, so there'd be no reason for him to get the head…thingy.  Okay, so they just had to keep him guessing long enough for Cathica to show up and the Doctor to subtly tell her what to do.  Okay.  Matter of time.  Hopefully.

"If we create a climate of fear," the Editor was saying, "then it's easy to keep the borders closed. It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilize an economy…invent an enemy…change a vote…"

"Enslave a species…" Rose added. 

"Well, now. There's an interesting point," the Editor said, turning to her.  "Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?"

"Yes," both Rose and the Doctor said in unison.

"Oh. I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I'm going to get? 'Yes'?" he asked.

"Yes," the Doctor said, nodding.

"You're no fun," the Editor pouted.

"Let me out of these manacles," the Doctor said darkly.  "You'll find out how much fun I am."

"Oh, he's tough, isn't he?" he said to Rose.  "But, come on. Isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it, just a little bit."

"You can't hide something on this scale," Rose said.  "Somebody must've noticed."

"From time to time, someone, yes," he admitted.  "But the computer system allows me to see inside their brain…I can see the smallest doubt—and crush it."  _Come on, Cathica_ , Rose thought furiously.  "And then they just carry on, living their life. Strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they're SO individual.  When of course, they're not. They're just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing."

As he spoke, Rose caught movement out of the corner of her eye.  She glanced up at the Doctor, who was looking around a corner at something she couldn't see.  _Good girl_ , she thought.

"What about you?" Rose asked. "You're not a Jagrafess.  You're human."

"Yeah, well simply being human doesn't pay very well," the Editor said.

"But you couldn't have done this all on your own," she continued.

"No! I represent a consortium of banks," the Editor explained. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to um…install himself."

"No wonder, a creature that size," the Doctor remarked, nodding up at it, showing it to Cathica.  "What's his life span?"

"Three thousand years," the Editor said.

"That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat," he said, mostly for Cathica's benefit.  "That's why Satellite Five's so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs—Jagrafess  stays cool, stays alive. Satellite Five's one great big life support system."

"But _that's_ why you're so dangerous," the Editor said.  "Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown."  He snapped his fingers and an electric jolt was sent through the restraints, through them.  "Tell me who you are!"

"Leave her alone!" the Doctor shouted as the electricity died down.  "I'm the Doctor, she's Rose Tyler, we're nothing, we're just wandering."

"Tell me who you are!" the Editor insisted.

"I just said!" cried the Doctor desperately.

"Yeah, but who do you work for?" the Editor asked.  "Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly—“ He froze for an instant, then his stance relaxed as his face turned thoughtful.

"No," Rose whispered.  He couldn't.  He wouldn't. 

"Time Lord," he said with a smile.

"What?" the Doctor asked, stunned.

"Oh, yes! The last of the Time Lords in his travelling machine," the Editor said.  "Oh, with his little human girl from long ago…"  Rose jerked away as he stroked her cheek, bile rising in her throat.

"You don't know what you're talking about," the Doctor insisted, a faint note of panic entering his voice.

"Time travel," the Editor said.

"Someone's been telling you lies," the Doctor told him.

"Young master Adam Mitchell?" the Editor asked, snapping and bringing up a visual of Adam in the spike room.

"Oh you _stupid_ _bloody ape_!"  Rose exploded.  "Why the hell would you go and do that _now_?" He didn't even have her—she froze, remembering the nudge he'd given her before they'd parted.  He'd picked her pocket and nicked her phone.  That little _bastard_.  Still, at least he didn't have the key.  She tried to take a deep breath and focus on salvaging the situation.

The Doctor stared down at her for a moment after her outburst, then looked back up at the screen.  "They're reading his mind," he realized.  "He's telling them everything!"

"And through him, I know everything about you," the Editor said gleefully.  "Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S, TARDIS."

"You'll never get your hands on it," the Doctor warned.  "I'll die first."

"Die all you like," the Editor said dismissively as he stepped toward them.  "I don't need you. I've got the key."  He reached under Rose's collar, pulling out the chain she kept the key on.  The Doctor struggled, but the Editor just smiled and ripped the chain from painfully from her neck.

"Today, _we_ are the headlines," he said, backing away.  "We can rewrite history. We could prevent mankind from ever developing."

"And no one's gonna stop you," the Doctor said.  “Because you've bred a human race that doesn't bother to ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're told it's made of gold."

“And that’s the beauty of it,” the Editor said, beaming at him.  “Who needs rough coercion techniques or torture when you can just as easily manipulate people into torturing themselves with a smile?”

A moment later, alarms started blaring all around them.

"What's happening?" the Editor asked quickly, peering at various screens.  "Someone's disengaged the safety."  He snapped his fingers and a projection of Cathica with information flowing into her brain popped up.  "Who's _that_?"

"Cathica," Rose said with a smile.

"And she's thinking," the Doctor shouted, also grinning.  "She's using what she knows!"

"Terminate her access," the Editor ordered Suki's corpse.

"Everything I told her about Satellite Five," the Doctor said, "the pipes, the filters—she’s reversing it! Look at that," he added, nodding to the icicles melting around them.  "It's getting hot."

"I said, terminate!" the Editor yelled, frantically putting his hands over Suki's.  "Burn her mind!"

The screens suddenly exploded in a shower of sparks.  The drones fell lifeless to the floor just as Rose's manacles clicked open.  She immediately turned and, rummaging through the Doctor's inside pocket, pulled out the sonic and went to work on his manacles.

"She's venting the heat up here," the Doctor said as she worked.  "The Jagrafess needs to stay cool and now it's sitting on top of a volcano," he finished with a laugh.

"Yes! Uh…I'm trying, sir," the Editor responded to the Jagrafess, "but…I don't know how she did it, it's impossible. A member of staff with an idea—“

"Oi, mate, wanna bank on a certainty?" the Doctor asked as the manacles fell free.  "Massive heat in a massive body. Massive bang!”  He turned, but then spun around again, grabbing the Editor's wrist in a vice like grip.  "That does not belong to you," Rose heard him growl, ripping the key out the Editor's hand.  "See you in the headlines!"

With that, they legged it.  Bits of debris were already falling from the ceiling as the whole floor shuddered.  They ran to the spike chamber, where the Doctor looked down at Cathica and clicked his fingers, smiling when the door in her head closed and she looked up at him.  They got her up and into the lift just as they heard the explosion of the mighty Jagrefess.

oOoOo

"We're just gonna go," the Doctor told Cathica.  "I hate tidying up. Too many questions. You'll manage."  He'd had quite enough of this place already.  He wanted to be away in the Vortex where things made sense.

"You'll have to stay and explain it," Cathica pleaded.  "No one's gonna believe me."

"Oh, they might start believing a lot of things now," he told her.  "The Human Race should accelerate. All back to normal."

"What about your friend?" Cathica asked, eyeing Adam by the TARDIS.

"He's not my friend," he said coldly before standing up.

"Just don't hurt him," Rose said wearily as he turned.  She didn't even try to defend the pretty boy.  That helped.  He nodded once before stalking towards the TARDIS.

"I'm alright now," Adam said.  "Much better.  And I found Rose's phone.  Well, found…sort of…" Rose stepped in front of the Doctor and snatched the phone from Adam's grasp before entering the TARDIS.  Adam laughed nervously as his only possible ally abandoned him.  "It all worked out for the best, didn't it?"

The Doctor grabbed him by the shoulder and steered him to the TARDIS, unlocking it with Rose's key before shoving him inside. 

"You know, it's not actually my fault, because YOU were in charge—“

"Oh, come off it," Rose snapped as the Doctor quickly set the coordinates for the boy's house, noting with some surprise that she refused to even look at the boy, just sat fuming and staring into the middle distance.  Interesting.  "The Doctor isn't responsible for every stupid decision made by idiotic humans."  She mumbled something else, but it was too low for the Doctor to hear.  He frowned briefly at her before the TARDIS settled once again.  He steered Adam back outside the TARDIS and into his parents living room.

"It's my house! I'm home!" cried Adam happily.  "Oh, my God, I'm home!"  The other two simply glared at him. "Blimey. I thought you were going to chuck me out of an airlock."

"Is there something else you want to tell me?" the Doctor asked in a low, slightly menacing voice.

"No," Adam said quickly—far  too quickly.  "Um... what do you mean?"

"The archive of Satellite Five," the Doctor said, striding over to the phone and picking it up. "One second of that message could've changed the world." Adam shifted guiltily.  Answer enough.  The Doctor put the phone back down and took out his sonic screwdriver, pointing it at the phone, which promptly blew up in a shower of sparks.  "That's it, then," he said, walking toward the TARDIS.  "See ya."

"How do you mean, 'see ya'?" Adam asked, shocked.

"As in 'goodbye'," the Doctor said shortly.

"But…what about me?" Adam whined.  "You can't just go, I've got my head—I’ve got a chip type two, my head opens."

"What, like this?" the Doctor asked, clicking his fingers.

"Don't," he said angrily, clicking his fingers to close his head.

"Don't do what?" the Doctor asked with another click.

"Stop it!" _Click._

"All right now, Doctor, that's enough," Rose said.  "Stop it."  He glanced at her, but backed down.

"Thank you," Adam said to Rose in relief.  The Doctor smirked when Rose arched an eyebrow at Adam and clicked her fingers.  "Oi!"  _Click_.

"Couldn't resist," she said unapologetically.

"The whole of history could've changed because of you," the Doctor told him.

"I just wanted to help," Adam protested.

"Oh, help who?" Rose snapped, exasperated.  "In what way was that going to help _anyone_ but you?  Your little stunt nearly got us killed and the TARDIS stolen."

"And I'm sorry," Adam said, and the Doctor shook his head.  "I've said I'm sorry, and I am, I really am, but you can't just leave me like this."

"Yes, I can," the Doctor informed him.  "'Cause if you show your head to anyone, they'll dissect you in seconds. You'll have to live a very quiet life. Keep out of trouble. Be average. Unseen. Good luck."

"But I wanna come with you!" he cried.

The Doctor paused and glanced between him and Rose.  "I only take the best," he said.  "I've got Rose."

He stepped back into the TARDIS and set the controls to take them into the vortex as soon as Rose followed.  She stepped in a moment later.  He glanced up at her as she closed the doors softly.  "Said goodbye to your boyfriend, then?"

He heard her sigh from across the room.  "That was not my boyfriend.  Never was.  _Definitely_ never will be.  What a prat," she added, making her way up the ramp and around the console to stand next to him.

The Doctor was quiet as the TARDIS made its getaway.  Only now did he realize that her steadfast denial about Adam was actually the truth.  She hadn’t wanted him.  She really had just wanted to let him see the stars.  And she had gotten as angry, if not angrier than the Doctor himself had at the boy’s stunt.  That cheered him considerably, even as it started the argument in his head again.  Although…she had said something odd.  Something about him doing that _now_ , as if she’d already tried to stop him somehow.  He was certain she would have told him if the pretty boy had expressed any desire for a chip type 2 when they’d left him.  He pushed the thought away to examine later, choosing instead to focus on the part of her outburst that he found completely adorable.

"You called him a stupid ape," the Doctor commented.

"Guess I did," she said, looking up at the Doctor with that teasing tongue in teeth smile.  "Calls 'em like I sees 'em."  The Doctor smirked.  "I am sorry, though."

He looked up at her in surprise.  "What for?  He's the one who got the great big bloody door in his head.  _And_ he nicked your phone."  He paused, scrutinizing her.  "How's your neck?"

"S’fine," she said evasively.  "But if I hadn't invited him—“

"Then everything else still would have happened," he cut in.  "And Cathica might not have realized that the information stream went both ways so quickly."

"Didn't think of that," Rose said slowly, tilting her head.

"Yep, the stupid ape did help," the Doctor said, "just not intentionally.  You, on the other hand," he added, throwing an arm around her shoulders, "were fantastic as always.  Tell you what, need to make a quick stop or two in a market district, then it's ladies choice.  Anywhere you want to go."

She chewed a nail thoughtfully.  "Can…can we go and see my dad?"

He hesitated.  She had already told him that her dad died when she was just a baby.  A situation like that, messing about in her own family history, it could be dicey even if she did manage to mind all the rules.  But she was looking at him with those big hazel eyes, chewing on her nail and looking so uncertain and vulnerable…

He smiled down at her.  “Rose, your wish is my command.”

 


	20. Family Ties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This actually includes the events of Father's Day, because as much as I love that episode and everything that happened (even the fight, cause I think it did a lot for their relationship) I couldn't see her making the same mistake twice.

The market district trips had taken longer than expected. The Doctor had tried to explain that he was looking for something in particular, and had to find the right person to specially make it. Rose hadn’t believed him, but she’d let it go. He knew she assumed he was just trying to put off making the trip to see her father, but in reality, that was just a happy bonus.  
“Where's this come from, all of a sudden?” he’d asked.  
“All right then, if we can't, if it goes against the laws of time or something, then never mind,” she’d said, looking away hurriedly. “We'll just leave it.”  
“No, I can do anything,” he’d replied, which wasn’t entirely true, but he was willing to stretch the definition for her. “I'm just more worried about you.”  
She’d been insistent, though, so when he finally had his hands on what he wanted, he’d taken her to her parents wedding. They both smiled when her father got her mother’s name wrong. They’d bundled back into the TARDIS before her parents could spot them. That’s where Rose had told him about the day her father died, and the way he’d died alone. So close to home, but with no one there, not even the driver.  
“I wanna be there,” she’d said. “So he doesn't die alone.”  
He’d been hesitant, but he’d finally relented after a long talk about fixed events versus events in flux. For whatever reason, her father had to die that day. They couldn’t save him. She had nodded with tears shining in her eyes but a determined look on her face.  
“That's so weird,” she’d said when they arrived. “The day my father died... I thought it'd be all sort of grim and stormy, it's just an ordinary day.”  
“The past is another country. 1987's just the Isle of Wight,” he’d told her. “Are you sure about this?”  
“Yeah.”  
They’d made their way to the street where it had happened, and as they watched, she explained what had happened. The Doctor had stood by grimly, wishing he could stop this, save her from this pain, but knowing that she needed this.  
“Hold me, Doctor,” she’d said softly. He’d looked at her questioningly. “If you don’t, I won’t be able to stop myself.”  
He’d nodded then, and stepped behind her, gingerly wrapping his arms around her waist. She’d clung to his arms, and he’d held on tighter when the impact occurred, closing his eyes and pressing his cheek to her hair when she let out a scream. He let go of her then, telling her to go to him. The young man who had been driving had stopped when he saw that there were witnesses. The Doctor had quickly made his way to a phone booth to call emergency vehicles to the scene while Rose kneeled next to her dying father, tears streaming down her face. When the ambulance arrived, the Doctor had pulled her gently but firmly away. She had only glanced back once before they stepped around the corner to the TARDIS.  
Now they were in the library. He’d held her as she wept, stroking her hair and rocking gently. He spent much of the time marveling at the strength of this young girl, to stand by and watch something so painful because she knew it had to happen.  
Just like you did, said a quiet voice in his head.  
No, not just like him…she hadn’t caused it, and she’d only been there to make her father’s last seconds less lonely. Still…something about it made him feel less alone, just as he felt Rose burrow still deeper into his hearts.  
Eventually, her sobs quieted. Shortly after that, realizing that she had cried herself to sleep, he carried her to her room, placing her gently on her bed. He left, only to return a moment later with a glass of water and paracetamol. He placed these on her nightstand and looked down at her for a moment, brushing a lock of hair away from her face. He sighed and left again, retreating to the console room to distract himself with repairs.  
oOoOo  
Hours later, he heard her enter the console room.  
“How are you feeling?” he asked, not looking up from the twisted wires he had strewn across the console.  
“Better for the fact that apparently the god of hydration blessed me,” she told him as she stepped next to him. He smirked. “Thank you, Doctor. For taking me, and…you know…staying with me.” He glanced down at her and nodded. “I never asked, do you…did you have family?”  
His hands shook as he toyed with the wires. He thought of his wife, the one he’d grown to care for deeply after being promised at an early age. Of the children that had been Loomed and that he had loved fiercely. Of Susan, dear Susan, who had meant so much to him and he had abandoned for her own good. All gone.  
“I’m sorry, I’m sure that’s none of my business,” Rose said after a moment, looking contrite. “I shouldn’t have asked.”  
He didn’t acknowledge this at first. He couldn’t. Those memories were so painful. The loss was excruciating. He kept himself from examining his past for this very reason. He didn’t talk about it, ever, because it wasn’t anyone else’s burden, and talking about it was useless. They were all still gone, and no amount of talking about them was going to bring them back.  
He glanced down when he heard her turn and begin to move away, and suddenly he wanted to talk. He wanted someone else to know…he wanted her to know. He wanted someone to be real outside his own head again.  
“I did, yes,” he said finally, making an effort to sound nonchalant while his eyes stayed trained on the wires he was working with. “Long time ago. I…I used to travel with my granddaughter, back when I first ‘borrowed’ the TARDIS.”  
Her eyes widened a little as she turned back and leaned on the console next to him. “What was her name?”  
“Susan,” he said, and coughed to clear the hoarseness that had somehow come into his voice. “She was called Susan. Although…” he frowned, then allowed himself a small smile as he added, “Her birth name was Arkytior…it means ‘rose’.”  
“You’re joking,” she said, astonished.  
“I’m not,” he said in mock insult. Some of the sadness drained away with this. “It’s her fault I started taking humans on board the TARDIS. Couple of her schoolteachers followed her home one day, and then they travelled with us for a time.”  
“You had her enrolled in school?” Rose asked, laughing.  
“She wanted to!” he said, still bewildered by his granddaughter’s decision to play human. “She wasn’t very good at blending in, though. Knew too much.”  
“Sounds familiar,” Rose said, snickering.  
“Oi! Are you saying I don’t blend in?” he asked, feigning outrage. Rose burst into real laughter at that. He smiled at her, finally giving up on the wires to turn around and lean against the console. “Confused the hell out of her teachers. She understood advanced physics, but couldn’t tell you how many shillings were in a pound.”  
“How many shillings are in a pound?” Rose asked, lost.  
“Twenty,” he said with a grin.  
“Good to know. When was all this?”  
“Um…1963, or thereabouts.”  
“Wow,” Rose breathed. He raised an eyebrow. “I knew you’d been around a while, it’s just…hearing about you there, then…” He nodded. “Was she on Gallifrey…?”  
“No,” he said, straightening up again. “She fell in love with someone on Earth, a very long time ago in the distant future,” he said with a sad little smile when Rose rolled her eyes at the timeline inconsistencies. “I don’t think that she survived The Moment. Even if she did, I can’t…she’s happy,” he said finally. “Happier than she could be with me, happier for not knowing.”  
He brooded for a moment over that lost girl before he felt Rose touch his arm comfortingly, and he put his hand over hers. They stood like that for a moment, before Rose said, “You know, Doctor…borrowing implies that you planned to bring the TARDIS back…ever,” she commented, and he laughed, the tension from the admission draining from him.  
Over the next couple of weeks, she peppered him with questions at odd moments about Susan, Ian, and Barbara. She never asked anything more personal than adventure highlights, for which he was grateful. He avoided specifics as to how Ian and Barbara had become part of the crew, as well as the nature of Susan’s final departure…both memories had too much guilt attached to them. Instead, he told her about the schoolteachers finding them in the junkyard, first meeting the Daleks on Skaro, travelling with Marco Polo, and getting accidentally engaged to an Aztec. She had delighted in every story, and he had to admit, if only to himself, that it felt good to talk about some of those old adventures with someone without bitterness.  
It wasn’t until they were on Woman Wept that she asked about her key. They were reclining on a blanket amidst the frozen crests in the sea, looking at the stars. She had developed a habit of asking him about the stars in each new sky, enchanted by the fact that he knew almost every one she pointed to. If he was honest with himself, he would have admitted to making them up a time or two just to see the look on her face.  
“So am I ever going to get my key back?” she asked during a lull in the conversation.  
“Of course you are,” he scoffed. “I gave it to you once…it’s yours. It just slipped my mind.”  
“Doctor,” she said, looking at him pointedly. “Nothing just ‘slips your mind’.”  
He sat up, making a show of checking his pockets. She was right, of course. He’d spent a lot of time and thought on this. But he had been uncertain about giving it to her, arguing with himself whenever he thought about it. It was too much. It…revealed too much. But then, he always tended to reveal more than he intended where Rose was concerned.  
He finally sighed, pulling the chain out of his inside pocket and holding it up for her. It gleamed in the moonlight.  
“Special alloy,” he told her. “Brighter than platinum, stronger than titanium. It’ll never rust, never tarnish, and the clasp can only be opened or closed with a sonic device. No one is going to take that off you without your permission without taking your head off.”  
She sat up as well, taking it from him and examining it. The key was already on it, along with…  
“The TARDIS?” she asked, fingering the charm. It was made of the same metal and a glimmering blue stone, exactly the shade of his ship. He nodded, watching her. “Is this what you were looking around all those different market districts for?” He nodded again, not trusting himself to speak. “It’s beautiful. Thank you, Doctor,” she said softly before throwing her arms around his neck. He didn’t even have a chance to hug her back before she sprang away, asking him to help her put it on. He took it again, opening the clasp with his sonic screwdriver while she turned her back to him and held her hair up. He slipped it around her neck, his fingers lingering for just a second on her skin as he closed the clasp again.  
She turned around again, asking for his opinion. He studied her, then swallowed hard before telling her the truth.  
“You look beautiful, Rose.”


	21. The Empty Child

Rose slammed into a wall as the TARDIS shuddered around her.  She picked herself up and sprinted to the console room.

"What's the emergency?" she shouted at the Doctor as she entered.

"It's mauve," the Doctor replied tersely, not looking up as he ran around the console.  "The universally recognized color for danger."

She glanced down at her T-shirt and moaned.  She should have known when she put on the Union Jack that it was going to be a bad day.  "Dare I ask what happened to red?" she said as she joined him at the console.

"That's just humans," he told her.  "By everyone else's standards, red's camp. Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing."

"Someone should really tell them that," she said with a teasing grin.

"What, and spoil all the fun?" He looked appalled for a moment, then refocused on the monitor.  "It's got a very basic flight computer," he said, gesturing to it.  "I've hacked in, slaved the TARDIS. Where it goes, we go."

"And that's safe, is it?"

"Totally," he assured her, just before part of the console exploded in a shower of sparks.  "Okay, reasonably," he amended as she shook her head.  "Should have said reasonably there."  They watched as the cylindrical object hurtled through the vortex ahead of them.  "Oh, no, no, no, no, no! It's jumping time tracks—getting away from us!"

"So…what is that thing?" Rose asked.  "And why are we chasing it?

"It's…a thing," the Doctor said, watching it carefully.  "And it's mauve and it's dangerous.  And about 30 seconds from the center of London."

"Of course it is," Rose sighed.  The Doctor glanced up at her and grinned.

The TARDIS jolted to a stop, throwing back both of them.  Rose carefully picked herself up and stepped out of the TARDIS, the Doctor close behind.

"Do you know how long you can knock around space without having to bump into Earth?" the Doctor asked sardonically.

"Five days?" Rose suggested.  "Or is that just when we're out of milk?"

"All the species in all the universe and it has to come out of a cow…"  He shook his head and started walking away, giving Rose little choice but to follow.  "Must have come down somewhere quite close. Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month."

"How did you manage that?  You were right behind it!"

"It was jumping time tracks all over the place," he said defensively.  "We're bound to be a little bit out. Do YOU wanna drive?"

"So what's the plan, then?"  Rose asked.  "Can't you do a scan for alien tech or something?"  She knew he wouldn't, but the whole thing would go away so much sooner if he would, just once, do something the easy way.

"Rose, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang," he said, chiding her.  "I'm gonna ask."  She rolled her eyes as he handed her the psychic paper.

"'Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids'," she read aloud.  "Handy stuff, this.  Didn't really look like an asteroid though, did it?"

"The people who want to believe in aliens would see a space ship in a lump of rock," he said, taking back the paper.  "The people who don't will see a lump of rock in a warship.  Human nature."

"You really don't think much of us, do you?"

"Oi, that's not fair," he said as he tried to get through a door at the end of the alley.  He glanced down at her and grinned.  "I think a lot of you."  She looked down and flushed.  He couldn't be…was he… _flirting_?  The angry in leather Doctor was _flirting_ with her?  "So…door, music, people. What d'you think?"

"I think you should do a scan for alien tech," Rose said stubbornly, pushing aside all suspicions of flirting.

"Are you sure about that t-shirt?" he asked her as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver, apropos to nothing.

"You know...I think I am," she said.  "I think it'll bring good things."

"If you say so," he said, one eyebrow raised.

Suddenly, Rose heard a voice from the alleyway.  She cocked her head and listened, stepping a few feet away from the Doctor.

"Come on if you're coming," he said as the lock popped open.  She glanced back, but heard the voice again.  She took a few more steps.

" _Muuummmy…"_

She froze.  She slowly brought her eyes upwards and saw the gas mask.  A wave of eventuality crashed down on her as she saw the events fall like dominos.  The Doctor couldn't get a clear picture of what was happening without Captain Jack.  Captain Jack wouldn't find the Doctor unless he met Rose.  He wouldn't meet Rose unless…

"Oh, you two definitely owe me for this one day…" she moaned as she ran down the alley and up the steps to the roof.  She saw the creepy kid on a high ledge and dashed toward him.  It was only another second before the rope dropped in front of her eyes.  She groaned, then took a deep breath and climbed up it, scaling the wall to gain some height.

"Balloon!" she heard above her, and steeled herself as the rope began to sway and pull away from the wall.

She clung to the rope, wrapping the end around her leg for better stability.  Planes were speeding past her, and bombs were going off around her.  _Anytime now, Jack_ , she thought impatiently.  Her hands were already beginning to get sore.

After several minutes, her arms were aching and her hands were on fire.  She vaguely remembered that he had caught her as she was falling.  Given that she couldn't hang on much longer, that was either very good news or very bad news.  Either she was going to see him soon...or she'd fall too soon and never see the Doctor again.

A bomb went exploded below her, startling her out of her thoughts, and her hands slipped.  She scrambled for purchase, but only slipped further, finally losing her grip completely.  She screamed—

—And then she stopped falling.  She was lying at an angle in a beam of light.  _Scratch that, Jack...I owe you_ , she thought fervently as his voice was projected out to her.

"Okay, okay, I've got you," he assured her.

"Glad someone has," she said in relief. 

"I'm just programming your descent pattern," he told her.  "Keep as still as you can and keep your hands and feet inside the light field.  Oh, and could you switch off your cellphone?"

"Let me guess, it interferes with your instruments," she said acidly as she fumbled for her phone.

"Actually, yes," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.  She snorted and turned it off.  "Thank you.  That's much better."

"Oh, yeah, that's a real load off, that is," she grumbled.  "I'm hanging in the sky in the middle of a German air raid with the Union Jack across my chest, but hey! My mobile phone's off!"

"Be with you in a moment," he said after a laugh.  There was a pause, then he said, "Ready for you. Hold tight!"

"To _what_?"

"Fair point."

And then she was zooming down the tunnel of light towards...nothing.  She closed her eyes, not opening them until she felt Jack's arms around her.

"I've got you," he said.  "You're fine, you're just fine. The tractor beam, it can scramble your head just a little."

Rose sincerely doubted that the tractor beam was the only cause for her scrambled thoughts as she looked up at him.  He was here, her Jack, alive and whole, with the gorgeous blue eyes and rakish grin.

"Hello," she said, a little breathlessly.

"Hello," he said softly, his smile widening as he looked down at her.

"Hello," she repeated, then giggled.  "Sorry, that was hello twice there…dull, but…you know…thorough…"

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Fine!" she proclaimed, feeling about as not alright as she possibly could be.  The Face of Boe was a different enough version as to be delineated as a unique individual in her mind, and this Jack she had been sure was dead for so long.  'Alright' was not even in the cards at this particular moment in time.  "Why are you expecting me to faint or something?" she asked as he set her back on her feet.

"Well, you do look a little dizzy..."

"No, I'm right as—“ she started, and then the whole world blurred and tilted, and blackness took her.

oOoOo

Rose woke up disoriented, unsure for a moment where she was.  Slowly, the memories came back.  1941.  The Blitz.  The barrage balloon, and Jack.  She swung her legs out and stood up slowly.

"Better now?" Jack asked from the front of the ship.

"Um...yeah, think so," she said slowly.  "Lights?"

He pushed something on the captain's chair and lights sprang up around her, making her blink.  "Hello," he said.

"Hello," she said, for some reason feeling shy and uncertain suddenly around the man who would become one of her best friends.

"Hello," he repeated.

"Yeah, let's not start that again," she said.

Jack laughed.  "Okay."

"So...who're you supposed to be, then?" she asked, stepping towards him.

"Captain Jack Harkness," he said, pulling a card from his billfold.  "133 Squadron Royal Airforce - American Volunteer."

"You're a liar," Rose commented as he handed her an ID card.  "This is psychic paper.  It tells me whatever you want it to tell me."

"How do you know?" he asked, giving her an appraising look.

"One, I've used it.  Well, a friend of mine has," she told him.  "And two, you just handed me a card telling me you're single and you work out."

"Tricky thing, psychic paper," he said reaching for the paper.

"Yeah, can't let your mind wander when you're handing it over," Rose agreed, handing it back to him.

"Oh, you’re holding out for someone in particular, but you like my smile," Jack said, reading the paper.  "I'm going to assume there's wiggle room, then."

"Shall we uh…try and get along _without_ the psychic paper?" she asked, a little unnerved.

"That would be better, wouldn't it?" he said, coming forward out of the cockpit.

"Nice ship," she said, looking around.  "Not a local boy, are you?"

"A cell phone, a liquid crystal watch, and fabrics that won't be around for at least another two decades," Jack remarked calmly. "You're not a local girl."

"Not so much," she said, leaning on the captain's chair to look out the window.  She put her hand down and gasped.  Stupid rope.  Stupid burning rope.

"Burn your hands on the rope?"

"Yeah," she said irritably as she examined them.

"Mind if I take a look?"

"Be my guest," she said, turning around and holding her hands out to him.

"You can stop acting now," he said as he sat next to her and ran a scanner over her hands.  "I know exactly who you are. I can spot a Time Agent a mile away."

"Time Agent?"

"I've been expecting one of you guys to show up. Though, not, I must say, by barrage balloon. Do you often travel that way?"

"More than I'd like," she muttered.  They exchanged a smile, and Jack took off his scarf and wrapped it around her wrists.

"Try to keep still," he said quietly before leaning up and over her to switch a button over her head.  Her breath hitched as she became aware of how close he was.  Oh, she might love the Doctor, but right now, he didn't know that, and Jack was still gorgeous, and he had his charm on full force at the moment.

She was thankful when the nanogenes descending on her hands distracted her.  She watched in fascination as they again worked their magic on her burns.

"Nanogenes. Sub-atomic robots. The air in here's full of them," Jack told her.  He switched the button again and they disappeared.  "They just repaired three layers of your skin."

"Well, tell them thanks," she said with a laugh.

"Shall we get down to business?" he asked, getting up.

"Business?"

"Shall we have a drink on the balcony?" he asked this time, holding out a bottle of champagne.  He pressed a button, and steps lowered behind him going up to the roof.  "Bring up the glasses," he said as he took the stairs.

Okay…so, she could ignore his flirtations and try to keep the relationship strictly professional, which would leave her feeling less guilty and which he would probably be expecting but wouldn't have as much fun with.  However, he might not be so willing to help them later without a little bonding.  So, really, it was only going to help her cause if she flirted back with him.  It was practically an obligation.  A very…fun obligation.  Right.

That sorted, she grabbed the glasses and followed Jack up the stairs.  Walking out onto the roof still freaked her out.  She didn't like standing on something she couldn't see.

"I'm standing on something…" she hinted.  Jack chuckled and took something out of his pocket.  He flicked a switch and the spaceship came into being beneath their feet.  "Right.  Active camouflage.  At least you'll remember where you parked," she added, nodding to Big Ben.

"Of course," he said with a grin.  "That's rule number one."  He winked, and popped the cork on the champagne.  He poured it into the glasses Rose held, then guided her over to the raised portion of the roof over the cockpit.  They sat and chatted for a few minutes while they sipped, but Rose was having a hard time paying attention.  The events of this adventure kept jostling each other for attention.  The empty child, with amazing powers.  The con-man captain without a clue.  Before morning, the Doctor would dance, and everyone would live.  She smiled at the thought.  He didn't get many days like that.

But none of it would happen if she didn't get Jack moving.  "It's getting late," she said finally, standing up. "I should really be getting back."

"We're discussing business," Jack protested.

"This isn't business," she said with a smile.  "This is champagne."

"I try never to discuss business with a clear head," he said, taking a last drink from his glass before standing and walking towards her.  "Are you travelling alone? Are you authorized to negotiate with me?"

"What would we be negotiating?"

"I have something for the Time Agency," he said.  "Something they'd like to buy. Are you in power to make payment?"

"I should really talk to my...companion."

"Companion?"

"Yeah, we should really talk to him," she said.

"Him?"

Rose rolled her eyes, and suddenly remembered his love of flash.  "Do you have the time?" she asked innocently.

Jack cleared his throat and flicked a switch on his apparently omni-tool.  Big Ben lit up next to them and chimed.  Rose laughed.  Sure, not so safe during The Blitz, but still...well timed flash is hard to come by.

"So... when you say 'companion'," Jack said, moving closer and putting his hands on her waist, "just how disappointed should I be?"

"Think this is really the best time to be coming on to me?" she asked with a laugh.

Jack raised her hand to his lips before patting it and saying, "Perhaps not."

"It was just a suggestion," she said quickly, not wanting to miss out on _Moonlight Serenade_.

"Do you like Glenn Miller?" he asked, turning back to her pointing the device over his shoulder.  The music started, and Rose smiled as he took her in his arms.  "It's 1941. The height of the London Blitz,” he said into her ear after a moment.  "The height of the German Bombing Campaign. And something else has fallen on London - a fully equipped Chula Warship. The last one in existence, armed to the teeth...And I know where it is. Because I parked it," he finished, pulling back just far enough to look at her.  "If the Agency can name the right price, I can get it for you. But in two hours, a German bomb is gonna fall on it and destroy it forever."  He stopped dancing, suddenly all business.  "That's the deadline. That's the deal. And now, shall we discuss payment?"

"Not until we can get back to...my companion," she said, looking up at him.  “But what about you?  You used to be a Time Agent, now you're some kind of free-lancer?"

"Well, that's a little harsh," he said, pulling her closer.  "I like to think of myself as a criminal."

"I bet you do," Rose said with a laugh, more indulgent than flirty.

"So, your companion...he handles the business?"

"More or less," Rose said evasively.

"Well, maybe we should go find him," Jack said with a smile.

"Scan for alien tech?" Rose asked.

"Obviously," he said with a snort.  Rose rolled her eyes.  If only the Doctor was so easy.

Jack was surprised when he found several hits for alien tech all at the same place, Albion Hospital.  Rose explained that her partner, Doctor Smith, was very big on gadgets and had the ability to carry quite a lot at once.

"A doctor is a Time Agent?" Jack asked in surprise.

"He's a very...complex man," Rose hedged.

"I'll say."

They made their way to the hospital, with Jack quizzing her the whole way.  She told the truth where she could, and evaded the things she couldn't.  She could tell, though, that he was already impressed with the Doctor by the time they reached their destination.

They had to call for him, but found him quickly in a hallway outside of the wards.

"Good evening. Hope I'm not interrupting—Jack Harkness," Jack said, immediately stepping forward and shaking the Doctor's hand.  "I've been hearing all about you on the way over."

"He knows," Rose put in when the Doctor looked at her quizzically.  "I had to tell him about us being Time Agents."

"And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Doctor Smith," Jack said heartily as the Doctor nodded almost imperceptibly.  He patted the Doctor on the shoulder and walked off, leaving the Doctor looking a bit bemused.

As soon as he turned to Rose, though, all bemusement was gone.  "Where've you been?" he asked urgently once Jack was out of earshot.  "We're in the middle of a London Blitz, it's not a good time for a stroll."

"Who's strolling?" she asked, following Jack.  "I went by barrage balloon. Only way to see an air raid."

" _What_?"

"Also, you might like to know that there is, allegedly, a Chula warship in the middle of London."

"Chula?"

They made their way into the ward, and Rose looked around sadly at the people in the beds.  _She_ might know that they'd get better, but it still saddened her that they'd had to suffer at all.  She never ceased to be astounded by the calamity that could be caused because someone wasn't paying attention.  After coming back, she realized this now more than ever.

The Doctor had said that it was some sort of virus, maybe, but he couldn't determine its exact origins, only that it came back to the thing they'd followed through the vortex.  Jack hadn't believed him when he explained the extent of the injuries that these living people had suffered.

"Check for yourself," the Doctor offered, standing aside with his arms crossed.  "Just don't touch them."

"This just isn't possible," Jack said as he finished scanning the third patient.  "How could this happen?"

"What kind of Chula ship landed here?" the Doctor asked him.

"What?"

"He said it was a warship," Rose told him.  "He stole it. Parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's gonna fall on it—unless WE make him an offer."

"What kind of warship?"

"Does it matter?" Jack asked, sounding agitated.  "It's got nothing to do with this!"

"This started at the bomb site," the Doctor said angrily, advancing on Jack.  "It's got _everything_ to do with it. What kind of warship?

"An ambulance!" cried Jack.  "Look," he said, more calmly, bringing up a hologram of the ship on his vortex manipulator.  "That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle—love the retro look, by the way, nice panels—threw you the bait—“

"Bait?" Rose asked.

"I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found out it was junk," Jack admitted.

"You're a con man," Rose said quietly.

"Yeah, it was a con," Jack said, turning away in annoyance.  Then he whipped back around, rounding on them.  "I thought you were Time Agents but you're not, are you?"

"Just a couple more free-lancers," Rose said with a shrug.

"Ahh…should've known," Jack said, rolling his eyes.  "The way you guys are blending in with the local color—I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but U-Boat Captain?"  The Doctor glanced down at his clothes, looking offended.  "Anyway…whatever's happening here has got NOTHING to do with that ship."

"What is happening here, Doctor?" Rose asked, looking around.  "What's wrong with them?"

"Human DNA's being rewritten…by an idiot," the Doctor said.

"The virus?"

"Or whatever it is," the Doctor said.  "It's converting human beings into these things.  But why?” he asked, thinking out loud.  “What's the point?"

Suddenly, all the people in the room jerked to a sitting position and began to rise from their beds.

"What are they doing?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor replied, pulling Rose closer to him by her arm and watching them warily.

The infected people drew nearer, backing Rose, Jack and the Doctor towards the wall.

"Don't let them touch you," the Doctor warned them.

"What happens then?" Rose asked.

"You're looking at it."  


	22. The Doctor Dances, part 1

_The infected people drew nearer, backing Rose, Jack and the Doctor to the wall._

_"Don't let them touch you," the Doctor warned them._

_"What happens then?" Rose asked._

_"You're looking at it."_

Something sparked in Rose's memory, and she decided she wasn't waiting for the Doctor.  They had cut it close before as it was.

"Go to your room," she said sternly to the group, stepping around the Doctor to face them.  They hesitated.  "Go to your room," she repeated, and they all bowed their heads.  "I mean it! I am very, very angry with you. I am very, _very_ cross!  Now Go. To. Your. Room!" she shouted, pointing away from them.  The group forlornly trudged back to their beds.  Rose breathed out.

"I'm really glad that worked," the Doctor said softly, leaning on one of her shoulders casually as he watched them.  "Those would have been terrible last words."  He grinned down at her, and she gave a sort of breathless laugh.

They spread out again in the room.  Rose went to have a closer look at one of the patients.

"Why are they all wearing gas masks?" she asked, realizing that she probably wasn't sounding enough like this was all new to her.

"They're not," Jack told her, leaning back in a chair and propping his feet up on a desk.  "Those masks are flesh and bone."

"How was your con supposed to work?" the Doctor asked him.

"Simple enough, really. Find some harmless piece of space-junk…let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth," he explained.  "Convince him it's valuable, name a price. When he's put 50% up front—oops! A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for. Never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money, and we discuss dumb luck. The perfect self-cleaning con."

"Yeah. Perfect," the Doctor said sarcastically.

"The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners," Jack went on.  "Pompeii's nice if you want to make a vacation of it though, but you've got to set your alarm for volcano day," he added, laughing.  The Doctor just frowned at him.  "Getting a hint of disapproval," he said, laughter gone.

"Take a look around the room," the Doctor said.  "This is what your 'harmless piece of space-junk' did."

"It was a burnt-out medical transporter," Jack insisted.  "It was empty."

"Jack," Rose started, then stopped herself quickly.  If she brought up the nanogenes now, before the Doctor had even seen them, it would seem like a startling logical leap for a supposed newcomer like herself, and could end up with the Doctor more suspicious of her.  That would not end well.  Now they were both looking at her questioningly.  "Nothing,” she said, shaking her head.

The Doctor threw another dark look at Jack, then turned around called for her as he strode toward the door.

"We getting out of here?" she asked, following quickly.

"We're going upstairs."

"I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living," Jack called after them, standing up.  "I harmed no one! I don't know what's happening here, but believe me - I had nothing to do with it."

The Doctor turned to him as he reached the door.  "I'll tell you what's happening. You forgot to set your alarm clock. It's volcano day.”

"The all-clear?" Rose asked as the siren went off again outside.

"I wish," the Doctor said, walking out the door.  Rose glanced back at Jack, and they both followed him.

The Doctor was already out of sight, but Rose made her way to the stairs as she called for him.

"Have you got a blaster?" he asked over the banister as she and Jack started up.

"Sure," Jack called back.

They dashed after the Doctor, ending up outside room 802.  "The night your space-junk landed, someone was hurt. This was where they were taken."

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"Let's find out.  Get it open," he ordered Jack, gesturing to it before coming to stand by Rose.

"What's wrong with your sonic screwdriver?" Rose asked as Jack grinned and pulled out his blaster.

"Nothing," the Doctor said, watching Jack.  The blaster cut a perfect square hole around the lock, and the door squeaked open.  "Sonic blaster, 51st century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?"

"You've been to the factories?" Jack asked in surprise.

"Once," the Doctor said, taking the blaster and examining it.

"Well, they’re gone now," Jack said, a little disappointed.  "Destroyed. The main reactor went critical. Vaporized the lot."

"Like I said, once," the Doctor said, handing the blaster back.  Rose snorted.  "There's a banana grove there, now. I like bananas. Bananas are good."  He smiled happily and turned into the room.

"Nice blast pattern," Rose noted as she passed the door.

"Digital," Jack said proudly.

"I like it," she said, following the Doctor into the room.

As the Doctor turned on the light, Rose was hit again by the violence in the room.  The window was broken, the chairs had been tipped, there was stuff everywhere.  Through the window, she could see the child's drawings of the mummy that never came.

"What d'you think?" the Doctor asked them.

" _Something_ got out of here..." Jack said.

"Yeah. And?"

"Something powerful," Jack continued. "Angry."

"Powerful and angry," the Doctor agreed, looking into the other room.

Rose followed Jack into the room, her heart breaking anew as she took in the tiny bed and toys scattered around.

"A child?" Jack asked, stunned.  "I suppose this explains 'mummy'."

"How could a child do this?" Rose asked.

The Doctor played the tape of Doctor Constantine talking to the child.  No matter what the prompt, the child kept repeatedly asking for its mummy.

"Doctor, I've heard this voice before," Rose told him.

"Me too," he replied. 

"Always, 'are you my mummy?' Like he doesn't know," she said.  "Why doesn't he know?"  He walked into the room and started pacing around it, growing more and more agitated.  "Doctor?"

"Can you sense it?"

"Sense what?" Jack asked.

"Coming out of the walls, can you feel it?" The Doctor stopped and stared at them.  "Funny little human brains, how do you get around in those things?" he asked before pacing again.

"When he's stressed, he likes to insult species," Rose explained to Jack.

"Rose, I'm thinking," the Doctor cut in, annoyed.

"Cuts himself shaving, does half an hour in life forms he's cleverer than…"

"There are these children living rough around the bomb site," he said, stopping to turn to them again.  "They come out during air-raids looking for food.  Suppose they were there when this thing—whatever it was—landed?"

"It was a med-ship," Jack reminded him.  "It was harmless."

"Yes, you keep saying, 'harmless'," the Doctor scoffed.  "Suppose one of them was affected—altered?"

"Altered how?"

"It's afraid. Terribly afraid, and powerful. It doesn't know it yet, but it will do," he said with a small, nervous laugh as he looked at Rose.  "It's got the power of a god, and you just sent it to its room."

"Doctor..." Rose said slowly.  "Where's its room?  Only, the tape ran out...but we can still hear it..."

The Doctor whirled around, and all three of them saw the gasmask child standing there watching them.

"Are you my mummy?" it asked.  It looked at Rose, cocking its head to one side as it considered her.  "Mummy?"

"Doctor?" Rose asked nervously.

"Okay, on my signal, make for the door," Jack said, reaching his hand slowly into his jacket. "NOW!" he yelled, violently producing a banana and pointing it at the child.

The Doctor grinned, pulling out the sonic blaster and blasting a square hole in the wall.  "Go!  Now!" he ordered them.  "Don't drop the banana!"

"Why not?" Jack yelled as they jumped through the hole and into a corridor.

"Good source of potassium!" the Doctor shouted back.

"Give me that!" Jack snapped at the Doctor when all three were on the other side, taking back the blaster and pointing at the wall.  The plaster rebuilt itself over the hole, sealing the child away.  "Digital rewind," he explained before tossing the banana at the Doctor.  "Nice switch."

"It's from the Groves of Villengard," the Doctor said happily.  "I thought it was appropriate."

"There's really a banana grove in the heart of Villengard and you did that?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"Bananas are good," the Doctor said simply.

Rose watched the exchange, still in awe that they could bicker like old ladies in the midst of mortal danger.  She could manage some cheek, but she didn't think she'd ever be at their level.

She jumped when there was a thump from the other side of the wall and the plaster cracked out toward them.  "Doctor!"

"Come on!" the Doctor shouted.

The ran down a short flight of stairs and down another corridor, but were blocked by patients bursting out of a ward calling for mummy.  The backtracked, trying another hall, only to find more gasmask people there.  They ran again the way they came, but as they found themselves back where they started, the child was breaking through the wall.

"It's keeping us here so it can get at us," the Doctor realized.

"It's controlling them?" Jack asked, pointing his blaster at each group in turn.

"It _is_ them," the Doctor replied, horrified.  "It's every living thing in this hospital."

"Okay, This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon, and a triple-enfolded sonic disrupter," Jack listed quickly.  "Doc, what you got?"

"A sonic—er…oh, never mind."

"What?"

"It's sonic, okay?" the Doctor said, turning the screwdriver on and brandishing it at the gasmask people.  "Let's leave it at that."

"Disrupter? Cannon? What?"

"It's sonic! Totally sonic! I am soniced up!"

"A sonic _what_?"

"SCREWDRIVER!" the Doctor shouted.  Jack spun around, astonished.

The child punched through the wall, and Rose lost her patience.  She was going to have to get a sonic something of her own…and stop travelling with men.  She grabbed Jack's wrist and pointed the blaster down at the floor.  "Going down!"

They fell into a heap into a room on the floor below.  Jack scrambled up and pointed the blaster back up and closed the hole so no one could follow.

"Doctor, are you okay?" she asked.

"Could've used a warning," he told her.

"Ugh, the gratitude."

"Who has a sonic screwdriver?" Jack asked, giving the Doctor a strange look.

"I do!" he said as Rose poked around for a light switch.

"Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks 'oohoo, this could be a little more _sonic_ '?"

"What, you've never been bored?  Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?"

"Would you two _shut up_?" Rose yelled as she found a light switch.

They were in another ward, and all the gasmask people lying in the beds sat up straight and started to call mummy.

"Door," Jack said tersely, and they rushed for it as the patients started getting out of the beds.  Jack tried to use his blaster on the lock, but found it useless.  "Dammit.  It's the special features they…" he stopped when he saw Rose's look, coughed awkwardly, and stepped back to allow the Doctor to open it.  They dashed through it, the Doctor locking it again behind them.

"Okay, that door should hold it for a bit," the Doctor said.

"The door?" Jack cried. "The WALL didn't stop it!"

"Well, it's gotta _find_ us first," the Doctor said reasonably.  "Come on, we're not done yet! Assets, assets!"

"Well, I've got a banana, and at a pinch you could put up some shelves," Jack said acidly.  Rose rolled her eyes.

"Window—“

"Barred, sheer drop outside," Jack cut the Doctor off.  "Seven stories." 

"And no other exits," Rose noted.

"Well, the assets conversation went in a flash, didn't it?" Jack asked, sitting down.

The Doctor eyed him suspiciously, then turned to Rose.  "So, where'd you pick this one up, then?"

"Doctor…" she said in a warning tone.

"She was hanging from a barrage balloon, I had an invisible spaceship,” Jack told him.  "I never stood a CHANCE."  Rose flushed and looked down uncomfortably.

"Okay, one, we want to get out of here. Two, we CAN'T get out of here. Have I missed anything?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah..." Rose said, not even looking up.  "Jack just disappeared."  The Doctor whipped around, then sat down hard on the crates he'd been standing on.  "Okay, so he's vanished into thin air," Rose continued after a moment.  She sighed.  "I'm glad you don't disappear on me, Doctor.  You might wander off, but you never actually..." She swallowed hard, memories of a particular french woman stinging her eyes.  "You've never just abandoned me," she finished, realizing that except for sending her away when he thought they would both die, this version of him never had.

The Doctor looked up at her.  "I would never do that to you, Rose."

 _Never say never, ever,_ she thought as she gave him a tight smile.

"Rose? Doctor?" Jack's voice called over a crackling speaker.  "Can you hear me? I'm back on my ship," he continued as they hurried over to the radio.  "Used the emergency teleport. Sorry I couldn't take you."  The Doctor showed Rose the frayed wires from the back of the radio, a confused look on his face.  "It's security-keyed to my molecular structure. I'm working on it—hang in there."

"How're you speaking to us?" the Doctor asked him.

"Om-Com. I can call anything with a speaker grille."

"Now there's a coincidence," the Doctor said slowly.

"What is?"

"The child can Om-Com too."

"It can talk to us through anything?" Rose asked.

"Anything with a speaker grille," he said, nodding.  "Even the TARDIS phone."

"And I can hear you," said the child's voice over the radio. "Coming to find you. Coming to fiiiiind you."

"Doctor, can you hear that?" Jack asked.

"Loud and clear."

"I'll try to block out the signal," he told them.  "Least I can do."

"Coming to find you, mummy!" the child broke in again.

"Remember this one, Rose?" Jack asked, and _Moonlight Serenade_ started playing through the radio.  The Doctor looked at her questioningly.

"It's sort of...our song," Rose mumbled, shifting uncomfortably.  The Doctor nodded, but didn't look happy.

So much for guilt-free.

oOoOo

The Doctor stood at the window with his sonic, attempting to resonate concrete.  Not exactly likely to happen, but it kept him busy.  He wasn't just going to sit in here and wait for the child to find them.  He didn't trust the pretty boy that had latched onto Rose.

What was it with her?  In a few months, she'd already had three boys panting after her.  Oh, she said she broke it off with Mickey, and Adam was…well.  But now there was the Captain too, all poster boy chic.  They had a _song_.

Not that it made any difference to him who she spent her time with.  None at all.  She could have all the pretty boys she wanted.  No skin off his nose.

But...sometimes, when they were in the TARDIS, and it was just the two of them, she sometimes looked at him a certain way that made him feel like he was the only man in the whole universe who mattered.  Which was ridiculous, of course.  But even while he told himself that, he couldn't help watching for that look to come again, hoping for it.

"What you doing?" she asked, breaking into his thoughts.

"Trying to set up a resonation pattern in the concrete," he told her, proud of how normal his voice sounded.  "Loosen the bars."

"You don't think he's coming back, do you?" she asked.

"Wouldn't bet my life." _Definitely wouldn't bet yours_ , he added silently.

"Why don't you trust him?"

"Why do you?"

"Saved my life. Bloke-wise, that's up there with flossing."

The Doctor snorted.  He'd saved her life.  Tons of times.  Mind you, he'd been the one to put her in danger in the first place, but it should still count.  And he didn't disappear afterwards.  Well, except for the first time, with the arm...he'd found her again, though, and then she'd run with him...

"I trust him 'cause he's like you," Rose said, saving him from his thoughts once more.  "Except with dating and dancing."

Dating?  He'd taken her to the end of the world, and then they'd gone for chips.  Dancing?  Well...he had taken her to that tribal ritual on Hurion 9...they'd _watched_ dancing...and...

He made an irritated noise and shot a look back at her.

"What?" she asked.  "You said you don't dance."

"I also said that I have danced.  I just…choose not to."

"Doesn't the universe implode or something if you…dance?"

He suddenly became aware of the stress she gave the last word and froze.

_She's nineteen, she's human, she likes pretty boys, even if she wanted to...dance...she wouldn't dance with you and you CAN'T dance with her…not like that…_

He shook himself.  THAT line of thinking was not allowed.  Ever.

"Well, I've got the moves but I wouldn't want to boast," he finally said.  Let her take that how she wanted.  He'd be resonating concrete.

He became aware that the volume of the music had increased.  He looked around, confused, to see Rose walking toward him in a decidedly flirty way.  He turned back determinedly to the concrete.  He was a hell of a lot safer with the concrete.

"You've got the moves?" she asked.  He slowly looked back at her.  "Show me your moves."

"Rose, I'm trying to resonate concrete," he said, in a manner meant to sound stern but came out a little desperate.

"Jack'll be back, he'll get us out," she assured him.  "So come on—the  world doesn't end 'cause the Doctor dances."

Feeling a bit mesmerized, he turned off his sonic and put it back in his jacket pocket.  He stepped down from his place by the window, watching her carefully as he advanced.  She didn't even blink.  He slowly took her hands in his, swallowing as he glanced down at them—

"Barrage balloon?"

"...What?" She sounded a little out of sorts herself.  He looked up at her suspiciously.

"You were hanging from a barrage balloon," he reminded her, his voice getting a little hard.  There was no reason for her to lie about it.  But he could see with his own eyes that her hands were perfectly fine.  Which would mean that she may have spent even more time with Jack than he had thought... _dancing_...

"Oh...yeah," she said.  "About two minutes after you left me. Thousands of feet above London, middle of a German air-raid, Union Jack ALL over my chest."

He raised his eyebrows.  "I've travelled with a lot of people, but you're setting new records for jeopardy-friendly," he told her before examining her hands again.  He believed her, he _wanted_ to believe her...

"Is this you dancing?" she asked after a moment.  "'Cause I've got notes."

"Hanging from a rope a thousand feet above London," he said carefully.  "Not a cut, not a bruise."

"Yeah, I know. Captain Jack fixed me up," she told him, eyebrow arched.

That made sense.  He should have realized that from the start.  She wouldn't lie about it.  But even as he felt relief, part of what she said rubbed him the wrong way.  He didn't like the idea of her being hurt, but he also didn't like the idea of this _Captain Pretty Boy_ tending to her wounds either.  That was his job.

"Oh, we're calling him 'Captain Jack' now, are we?" he asked her derisively.

"Well, his name's Jack and he's a captain..." she trailed off.

"He's not really a captain, Rose," he assured her with a small smile.

"D'you know what I think?" she asked.  "I think you're experiencing Captain envy." 

He smiled a little bitterly as he looked down.  Being a 'captain' wasn't what he envied the man for.  But...maybe he could change _some_ of that.  He released one of her hands and put his own at her waist, pulling her closer and swaying with the music.

"If ever he was a captain," he said softly, "he's been defrocked."

"Yeah? Shame I missed that," she teased and he arched an eyebrow at her.

"Actually, I quit," Jack said suddenly.  "Nobody takes my frock."

The Doctor's head snapped up and he took in the spaceship, stepping away from Rose as if he’d been burned.


	23. The Doctor Dances, part 2

Rose felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on her head.  When he'd taken her hands, dim memories of his accusatory tone and rough actions came back to her, so she'd been surprised when he'd asked the same questions in an entirely different manner.  Suspicious, yes, a little concerned, but no anger, and he hadn't thrown her hands back at her, but kept a hold on them until he released one just to pull her closer.  He’d maybe flirted with her earlier, and she could feel the weight of the beautiful charm and chain he had given her for her key.  But then he’d jumped away like he’d been doused with acid as soon as Jack spoke.  What the hell was going on?

"Most people notice when they've been teleported," Jack was saying.  "You guys are so sweet. Sorry about the delay. I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security."

"You can spend ten minutes overriding your own protocols?" the Doctor sneered. “Maybe you should remember whose ship it is."

"Oh, I do," he said fondly.  "She was GORGEOUS.  Like I told her—be back in five minutes."

"This is a Chula ship," the Doctor said slowly, looking around with furrowed brows.

"Yeah, just like that medical transporter," Jack said.  "Only, this one IS dangerous."

The Doctor glanced around again, then clicked his fingers.  A swarm of nanogenes appeared around his hand instantly.

"They're what fixed my hands up," Rose told him.  "Jack called them nanogenes."

"Sub-atomic robots," he explained.  "There's millions of them in here, see? Burned my hand on the console when we landed—all better now. They activate when the bulk head's sealed. Check you out for damage, fix any physical flaws."  He watched them for a moment, then flicked his wrist to banish them away.

"You didn't have to tie my hands to get them to fix them, did you?" Rose asked Jack suspiciously, realizing this only now that she wasn't cloudy with lust at first sight.

"Ah...strictly speaking, no," he said slowly with a sheepish grin.  "But I gotta say, you do look great in bondage."  Rose snorted and shook her head.

The Doctor stared between her and Jack, open mouthed.  "You...he..." he shut his mouth abruptly, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose.  "Just take us to the crash site," he said wearily.  "I need to see your space junk."

"As soon as I get the nav-com back online," Jack assured him, sounding a little put out.  "Make yourself comfortable. Carry on with whatever it was you were...doing," he added, gesturing to them.

"We were talking about dancing," the Doctor said hurriedly.

"It didn't look like talking," Jack remarked with a suggestive grin. 

Rose flushed and attempted to change the subject while the Doctor retreated back into the ship.  "So, you used to _be_ a Time Agent, and now you're trying to con them?"

"If it makes me sound any better," Jack said, fiddling with some controls, "it's not for the money."

"For what?"

"Woke up one day when I was working for them and found they'd stolen two years of my memories," he told her.  "I'd like them back."

"They stole your memories?"

"Two years of my life. No idea what I did," he said in a hollow voice.  He glanced at the Doctor, who was watching him.  "Your friend over there doesn't trust me. And for all I know…he's right not to."  There was a heavy silence until the computer beeped.  Jack cleared his throat, pulling free of his dark thoughts.  "Okay, we're good to go," he said cheerfully.  "Crash site?"

oOoOo

They landed near the crash site in a disused rail yard.  As they got closer, they could see floodlights highlighting the area in the distance and guards on alert at the entrance.

"There it is," Jack said softly as they stopped outside the entrance.  "Hey, they've got Algy on duty. Must be important."

"We've gotta get past," the Doctor said urgently.

"The words 'distract the guard' heading in my general direction?" Rose asked.

"I don't think that'd be such a good idea," Jack said with a smile.

"I can handle it," she told him.

"I've got to know Algy quite well since I've been in town," he said shaking his head.  "Trust me. You're not his type. I'll distract him.  Don't wait up," he added over his shoulder as he sauntered away.

"He certainly is...flexible," Rose commented as she watched him.

"He's a 51st century guy," the Doctor said with a shrug.  "By his time, you lot have spread out across half the galaxy."

"So many species, so little time..." Rose sighed.  The Doctor laughed.  “Although…I suppose some species aren’t so bad,” she said, and bit back a grin when she saw his sharp look down at her from the corner of her eye.

They watched Jack approach Algy.  Their words were muffled by distance, but it quickly became obvious that something was very wrong.  Suddenly, Algy fell to his knees coughing.  His back arched and he threw his head back, his face transforming into a gas mask.

"Stay back!" the Doctor yelled as they ran over.  Jack yelled to the other soldiers as the Doctor continued, "The effect's become air-borne. Accelerating."

"What's keeping us safe?" Rose asked.

"Nothing."

"Ah, here they come again," Jack said, looking up as the air raid siren blared.

"All we need," Rose muttered.  "Didn't you say a bomb was gonna land _here_?"

"Never mind about that," the Doctor said quickly as Jack nodded.  "If the contaminants air-borne now, there's hours left."

"For what?"

"'Til nothing. 'Til forever. For the entire human race."  He paused, looking around with a frown.  "And can anyone else hear singing?"

They followed the sound to a shed close by.  Nancy was inside, handcuffed to a table and singing to a gasmask soldier.  The Doctor slipped in and soniced her free, and the group made their way in to the crash site.  The Doctor and Jack pulled back the tarpaulin over the Chula med-ship.

"You see? Just an ambulance," Jack said confidently.

"That's an ambulance?" asked Nancy incredulously.

"It's hard to explain, it's... it's from another world," Rose told her.

"They've been trying to get in," Jack said, frowning.

"Of COURSE they have," the Doctor scoffed.  "They think they've got their hands on Hitler's latest secret weapon. What're you doing?"

"Well, the sooner you see this thing is empty, the sooner you'll see I had nothing to do with it," Jack explained.  He pressed various keys, but jumped back when sparks flew from it and an alarm went off.  "Didn't happen last time."

"It hadn't crashed last time," the Doctor reminded him.  "They're the emergency protocols."

"Doctor!" Rose shouted as the gates on the other side of the crash site started shaking.

"Captain, secure those gates!" the Doctor shouted at Jack.

"Why?"

"Just do it!" he bellowed, and Jack took off.  He turned around.  "Nancy, how'd you get in here?"

"I cut the wire."

"Show Rose," he ordered, tossing his sonic at Rose, who caught it deftly.  "Setting two thousand four hundred and twenty eight D."

She nodded and ran after Nancy to the hole she had cut in the wire.  She slid into a kneeling position next to the fence.  "Hold them in place, I'll reattach them," she said quickly.

"Who are you?" Nancy asked as she obliged.  "Who are any of you?"

"You'd never believe me if I told you."

"You just told me that was an ambulance from another world," Nancy said reasonably.  "There are people running around with gas-mask heads calling for their mummies, and the sky's full of Germans dropping bombs on me. Tell me. Do you think there's anything left I couldn't believe?"

"We're time travelers from the future," Rose said quietly after a moment's hesitation.

"Mad, you are."

"We have a time travel machine.  Seriously!"

"It's not that," Nancy said, shaking her head.  "All right - you've got a time travel machine. I believe ya. Believe anything, me.  But what future?" she asked, looking up at the sky.

Rose followed her gaze, then turned to her, speaking quickly.  "Nancy, don't tell anyone this, _especially_ not the Doctor, because he gets really touchy about people knowing too much about their own futures and the disruptions it causes in the causal..."  Nancy's eyes had unfocused.  Right, too technical.  The Doctor really was a terrible influence sometimes.  She tried again.  "Don't say anything to anyone, but this isn't the end.  Not for you or anyone else.  The Germans never come here, and they don't win.  I'm from London, about fifty years from now, and it's not run by Germans.  Because they _don't win_... _you do._ "

Nancy stared at her for a moment, digesting this.  "We win?" she asked in a small voice.  Rose nodded and smiled, and Nancy laughed. 

"Come on," Rose said, pulling her to her feet and running back to the Doctor and Jack.

"It's empty. Look at it," Jack was saying as they drew closer.

"What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter? Bandages? Cough drops?" he asked in an irritated voice.  "Rose?"

"Nanogenes?"

"That's my girl," he said.  "It wasn't empty, Captain. There was enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species."

"Oh, God," Jack said, paling as reality sank in.

"Getting it now, are we?" the Doctor asked sarcastically.  "When the ship crashes, the nanogenes escape. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night and wearing a gasmask."

"And they brought him back to life?"

"Of course.  Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though - these nanogenes - they're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like.  All they've got to go on is one little body, and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on. They do what they're programmed to do, they patch it up. Can't tell what's gasmask and what's skull, but they do their best. Then off they fly - off they go, work to be done. 'Cause you see NOW they THINK they know what people should look like and it's time to fix all the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire Human Race is gonna be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and NOTHING in the world can stop it!"

"I didn't know!" cried Jack, trying to sound defiant, but his voice shook.  The Doctor threw a disgusted look at him before turning away to examine the ship again.

"It's bringing the gasmask people here, isn't it?" Rose asked, nodding to the ship.

"The ship thinks it's under attack. It's calling up the troops. Standard protocol," the Doctor explained.

"How did the gasmask people become troops?"

"This is a battle-field ambulance. The nanogenes don't just fix you up - they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, program you."

"That's why the Child's so strong. Why it could do Om-Com."

"It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes," the Doctor said, nodding.  "All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four year old looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them."

"Why don't they attack?" Jack asked nervously as the four of them watched the gasmask people surrounding the fence.

"Good little soldiers," the Doctor said.  "Waiting for their commander."

"The child?"

"Jamie," Nancy corrected.

"What?"

"Not 'the child'," Nancy told him angrily.  "Jamie."

"So, how long until the bomb falls?" Rose asked as the Doctor looked at Nancy.

"Any second," Jack replied nervously.

"What's the matter, Captain?" the Doctor taunted.  "Bit close to the volcano for you?"

"He's just a little boy," Nancy moaned.

"I know," the Doctor said, coming to stand next to her.

"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy."

"I know. There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy. And this little boy can."

Rose chewed on her lip.  She really didn't want to let this play out anymore, didn't want the bomb to get closer.  She heard Nancy mumble that it was her fault, and walked toward her carefully.  Hopefully, this wouldn't be too startling of a leap.

"Nancy, where's his mummy?" she asked quietly.

"What?" Nancy asked, looking up sharply.

"His mummy," she repeated, watching her.  "Your parents?  You said he's your brother, right?"

"Rose, what does that have to—“ the Doctor started, then stared at her.  He looked back at Nancy, then up at the gasmask people, and back down to her.

"Nancy, what age are you?" he asked urgently.  "Twenty? Twenty-one? Older than you look, yes?"

"Doctor, that bomb," Jack shouted as one went off nearby.  "We've got seconds."

"Teleport?" Rose asked.

"I can't take you guys. The Nav-Com's back online. Gonna take too long to override the protocols."

"So it's volcano day," the Doctor said, still staring intently at Nancy.  "Do what you've got to do."

Jack gave Rose an apologetic look and teleported himself out.  Rose hoped with all her heart that he would still prove to be bigger on the inside.

"How old were you five years ago?" the Doctor was asking Nancy.  "Fifteen? Sixteen? Old enough to give birth, anyway."  Nancy glanced up at him and then looked away guiltily.  "He's not your brother is he?" Nancy shook her head tearfully.  "A teenage single mother in 1941. So you hid. You lied.  You even lied to him."

They all looked up as the gates swung open.  Jamie stood in front of a formidable army of gasmask people.

"Are you my mummy?" he asked.

"He's gonna keep asking, Nancy," the Doctor told her quietly, looking down at her..  "He's never gonna stop. Tell him."  He looked up again as the army began to walk forward.  "Nancy...the future of the human race is in your hands. Trust me...and tell him."

"Are you my mummy?" the child asked as he approached.  The Doctor gave Nancy a gentle push in his direction.  "Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?"

"Yes," she whispered.  She took a deep breath and then said in a stronger voice  "Yes, I _am_ your mummy."

"Mummy?" the child asked, walking foward.

"I'm here."

"Are you my mummy?"

"I'm here," Nancy repeated, kneeling in front of him.

"Are you my mummy?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"He doesn't understand," the Doctor said quietly.  "There's not enough of him left."

"I am your mummy.  I will always be your mummy," she promised.  "I'm so sorry."  She leaned forward and hugged him.  Nanogenes sprang up around them, surrounding them in a golden glow.  "I'm so, so sorry."

They watched in silence as the nanogenes circled and swirled around the pair.

"Come on, please," the Doctor begged.  "Come on, you CLEVER little nanogenes - figure it out! The mother. She's the mother! There's gotta be enough information, figure it out!"

Nancy suddenly fell away from the child, and the nanogenes disappeared.  The Doctor and Rose rushed over to them, and the Doctor stared down at the child.

"Oh, come on. Give me a day like this," he pleaded with the universe at large.  "Give me this one."  He reached out to the gasmask, and managed to pull it free, revealing the adorable face of the four year old boy underneath.  The Doctor laughed and picked him up, swinging him around.  "Welcome back!" he said happily.  "Twenty years 'til pop music—you’re gonna love it!"

"What happened?" Nancy asked, still staring in disbelief at her little boy.

"The nanogenes recognized the superior information—the parent DNA," the Doctor explained.  "They didn't change YOU because YOU changed them!" he cried with another laugh before setting Jamie down in front of her.  "Mother knows best!"

"Jamie," she said, tears of joy springing to her eyes now.

"Doctor, that bomb," Rose reminded him.

"Taken care of it," he informed her.

"How?"

"Psychology!" he said simply.

She looked up to see the bomb coming toward them...then Jack's ship shoot through the sky and catch it in the same tractor beam that had caught her earlier that night.  Jack appeared suddenly in the beam, straddling the bomb.  "Doctor!" he called.

"Good lad!" the Doctor shouted.

"The bomb's already commenced detonation," Jack told them.  "I've put it in stasis but it won't last long."

"Change of plan," the Doctor said.  "Don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it? Safely as you can?"

"Rose?" he called.

"Yeah?"

"Goodbye."  With that, he disappeared, only to pop up again a second later.  "By the way, love the T-shirt," he called with a grin before disappearing again.  The ship zoomed away into the sky.

The Doctor walked forward a few steps, staring at his hands.  The nanogenes descended and swirled around his hands.

"What're you doing?" Rose asked.

"Software patch. Gonna email the upgrade," he explained.  "You want moves, Rose? I'll give you moves."  He thrust his hands forward, toward the gasmask people.  The nanogenes flew from him and surrounded the group, which promptly fell to the ground as the tiny bots did their work.  "Everybody lives, Rose," he shouted ecstatically.  "Just this once. Everybody lives!"

Rose watched as the group began to get to their feet, gasmasks gone.  Her eyes burned with tears as the Doctor bounded away to talk to Doctor Constantine.  She had seen the Doctor in some of his worst moments of pain, both with this face and the next.  Her heart swelled as she watched him.  He fought the whole universe to save it, all the time...he deserved a day like this.

She forced her emotions into some kind of order when the Doctor rushed back to her.  He surprised her by sweeping her into a spinning hug before continuing on to the Chula med-ship.  "Right, you lot!" he said boisterously over the top of it.  "Lots to do! Beat the Germans, save the world, don't forget the Welfare State!"  He bent down to the controls.  "Setting this to self-destruct, soon as everybody's clear," he told Rose.  "History says there was an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?"

"Usually the first in line," she teased.  They exchanged a grin.  He finished the code and grabbed her hand, pulling her away and back to the TARDIS, Nancy calling her thanks after them.

"The nanogenes will clean up the mess and switch themselves off, because I just told them to," he said as they ran into the TARDIS.  "Nancy and Jamie will go to Doctor Constantine for help—ditto—all  in all, all things considered, fantastic!"

"Look at you, beaming away like you're Father Christmas!" she said with a laugh.

"Who says I'm not, red-bicycle-when-you-were-twelve?"

"What?"

"And everybody lives, Rose!" he cried, arms swinging wide.  "Everybody lives!  I need more days like this."

"Doctor," Rose said as he began working the controls on the console.

"Go on, ask me anything. I'm on FIRE!"

"What about Jack?" she asked.  His smile faded, but he carried on working.  "Doctor, we can't just let him die."  The Doctor finally looked up at her.  "He saved us, Doctor.  He's careless, and selfish, a little rude and far too flirty for his own good...but he saved us all.  Please, Doctor.  Just this once…everybody lives."

He watched her for another moment, then sighed.  "You and your pretty boys," he muttered, resetting the coordinates, then got a sly look on his face before punching another button.  "Fancy trying that dance again?"

She beamed at him as _Moonlight Serenade_ started playing.  He dashed down the ramp to open the door as they materialized on Jack's ship before taking her in his arms and awkwardly trying to manage some basic waltz.

"Anyway. Thanks for everything, computer," Jack's voice floated back to them, not yet noticing them.  "It's been great."

Rose looked over just as Jack swung around in shock.  "Well, hurry up then!" she called to him.

He didn't need to be told twice.  As Rose tried to walk the Doctor through the steps, Jack dashed into the TARDIS, only to stop the minute he was inside as he took in the sheer enormity of the space in comparison to the outside.

"Right, and turn..." and once again, her arm ended up twisted around her back.  She sighed and laughed.  "Okay, okay, try and spin me again, but this time—don’t get my arm up my back!" She laughed again when he looked sheepish.  "No extra points for a half-nelson."

"I'm _sure_ I used to know this stuff," he grumbled.  "Close that door, will you," he said to the still stunned Jack.  "Your ship's about to blow up—there’s gonna be a draft."  Rose leaned back against a coral strut and grinned as the Doctor started working the controls and the engines started up.  "Welcome to the TARDIS."

"Much bigger on the inside…" Jack said weakly.

"You'd better be," the Doctor said.

"I think what the Doctor's TRYING to say is…you may cut in," Rose said with a grin at Jack as she took his hand.

"Rose! I've just remembered!" cried the Doctor.

"What?" she asked, not totally able to hide the excitement in her eyes.

"I can dance!" he cried as _In The Mood_ started blaring out of the speakers.  He strutted towards her, clicking his fingers.

"Actually, Doctor," she said slowly for effect, "I thought Jack might like this dance."

"I'm sure he would, Rose," he said, unfazed.  "I'm absolutely certain. But he’ll have to find his own partner.”

He took her hand as her mouth fell open, pulling her closer.  She laughed as he led her through a two-step around the console as they hurtled through the Vortex.  That was _not_ what he’d said last time…but she decided not to question it anymore.  She glanced at Jack, smiling happily as he watched them dance, and felt for a moment like her family was complete.

She was happy enough that she was able to ignore the voice that told her that it would soon all come to an end.


	24. The Storm Rages

Jack Harkness was on top of the world.  He had been on the TARDIS crew for only a couple of months, but already had the more amazing adventures than any other time in his life, both as a Time Agent and as a con man, with two of the most amazing people he’d ever met.  He could (and did) freely admit that he was a little in love with both of them.  They were a study in opposites.  The Doctor was all sharp angles and snark, while Rose was so soft and sweet.  Granted, both of them had the ability to shift those traits, especially with each other.  He’d caught the Doctor checking on her, covering her with a blanket when she fell asleep in the library, and Rose could definitely hold her own in an argument with an angry Time Lord.  The fact that they were totally in love with each other did not sway his affection for either of them in the least, partially because he got such a kick out of watching them deny it.  They sometimes reminded him of planets in perfect symbiotic stasis.  They orbited around each other, never touching…but without the other both would have been lost.  Other times they seemed to be on a collision course that everyone but them could see.   Even in the time that he’d known them, the Doctor seemed to relax more around her, or at least be more relaxed when she was around.  And for Rose’s part, she seemed immune to Jack’s charms, which was new for him.  She treated him more like a brother than anything else, and had since he’d first boarded the TARDIS…apparently, she had zero warm up time.  Even the Doctor had said so.

Lately, though, Rose had been different.  Just the past few days.  She was becoming a little erratic.  Sometimes, she seemed bent on spending every waking moment with the Doctor while they were in the TARDIS, reading in the console room while he worked or staying up with him in the kitchen over bottomless cups of tea (which, it shouldn’t have surprised him, actually existed on this ship) until she practically fell asleep at the table.  Other times, she locked herself in her room and wouldn’t come out for hours, ignoring them when they asked what she was doing or if she was alright.  And something in her eyes…an almost haunted look, like something was following her around every second, something she couldn’t escape.  It worried him.  And he wasn’t the only one to notice.  He’d caught the Doctor studying her when he didn’t think anyone was looking, trying to figure out what was wrong.

Jack had had enough.  He hated seeing his friend hurting, and he wasn’t going to let her shoulder whatever it was on her own anymore.  He navigated his way through the TARDIS and found her room, which was now across from the Doctor’s.  He wondered briefly who had been behind that…the Doctor, the TARDIS, or Rose herself.  Then he heard the sobs coming from inside and all other thoughts were pushed out of his mind.

“Rose,” he called, knocking on the door.  “Rosie, you alright?”  He heard her try to quiet herself, mostly without success.  “Rose, I know something is going on.  Will you please let me in and talk to me?”

“I’m fine, Jack,” came her watery voice.

“No, you’re pretty obviously not,” he replied.  She wasn’t going to let him in.  He hesitated for a second, then turned the handle and pushed the door open, only to be greeted by a pillow flying at his face.

“Leave me alone!” she yelled from her bed.

“I can’t do that,” Jack said, picking up the pillow and taking a wary step towards her.  “Rose, I’m not trying to make you angry, I promise you I’m not.  But you’re obviously in pain.  I just want to help.”

“You can’t,” she told him.  “No one can.”  She burst into tears again, and Jack flew to the bed and took her in his arms.  She resisted at first, but then melted, sobbing into his shirt.

“Rose, whatever it is, it can’t be that bad,” he said, stroking her hair.  “The Doctor and I, we can help.”

“But you can’t,” she said, raising her head.  “Especially the Doctor.  He can never know.”

“Can never know what?”

And then, as if a dam had burst inside of her, the whole story started spilling out.  At first, when she started talking about the TARDIS visiting her in a parallel world that was trying to erase her, he had genuinely feared for her sanity.  She told him something happened to trap her in the parallel world and away from the Doctor, something that would happen sometime in the future.  She talked about coming back to her first moment in the TARDIS, reliving her entire life with the Doctor up to this point.  When she started talking about things that had changed, he started to believe her.  For one, no one could make up a mass murder committed by shop store dummies.  For two, she seemed genuinely gutted by the people she’d still lost, like this girl Gwyneth.

“Why do you have to relive your whole time with him?” he asked once she started to calm down.  “Why not just that one moment?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted.  “Apparently, there are a lot of things in play other than that one moment.  Things that involve the Doctor and me.”

“Do you think you’re going to be able to change it?”

“I don’t know!” she wailed.

“Okay, okay, okay,” he said soothingly, rubbing her arm.  “Alright, so you had to go back and pull a massive do over with the Doctor.  That’s…stressful, I’ll grant you.  So, is it coming soon?  Is that what you’re afraid of?”

She looked up at him with eyes filled with pain, then quickly looked down and whispered, “No.”

“Something else then?” he asked, stunned.  “Something ELSE is coming?”

“Yeah,” she said softly.  “It’s bad.  And any way I look at it, it ends the same.  It’s not one that I can change.  It has to happen the way that it does, because if it doesn’t…” she swallowed hard.

“What?  If it doesn’t then what?”

“Everyone dies,” she said simply.

Jack fell back against her footboard, his breath leaving his in a whoosh.  “What happens if you let it happen the way it’s supposed to?”

“Less people die.”

“Wow, that’s…cheery.”  Jack thought hard for a moment.  “Something happens to the Doctor, doesn’t it?”  She nodded.  “And to me?”

“Jack…”

“Okay, okay,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender, then pulled her over to sit next to him, keeping an arm draped around her.  “You can’t tell me about my future, I know.  Time travel rule number…well, top ten, anyway.  Okay.  So that’s why you can’t tell the Doctor?”

“Jack, I can’t tell him any of it.”

“Why not?  I mean, it was his TARDIS that pulled the trigger on this thing.”

“Because it all comes down to him,” she explained.  “If he knew that I was rewriting history every day just by being here, he’d go ballistic.”

“Yeah, I suppose you have a point there.”

“You’re damn right she has a point,” a voice thundered from the doorway.  They whipped around to see the Doctor glaring at them with the full strength of the Oncoming Storm.  “Rose, what have you done?”

oOoOo

The Doctor has just wanted to check on Rose, see how she was doing.  Her moods had been…unpredictable lately, and he wanted to make sure she was okay, that she didn’t want to go home.  That was all.

Then he’d gotten closer to the doorway and heard them talking, which irritated him anyway.  He didn’t like Jack in Rose’s bedroom.  Things could…happen in there.  Then he’d heard what they were saying, and his blood ran cold.

 _“Something happens to the Doctor, doesn’t it?”_ he heard Jack say.  A pause, and then, _“And to me?”_

 _“Jack…”_ Rose’s voice said warningly.

_“Okay, okay,  You can’t tell me about my future, I know.  Time travel rule number…well, top ten, anyway.  Okay.  So that’s why you can’t tell the Doctor?”_

_“Jack, I can’t tell him any of it.”_

_“Why not?  I mean, it was his TARDIS that pulled the trigger on this thing.”_

_“Because it all comes down to him.  If he knew that I was rewriting history every day just by being here, he’d go ballistic.”_

_“Yeah, I suppose you have a point there.”_

While he listened, all the little things, the little bits that were not quite right, clicked into place in his head.  The way she’d changed when she entered the TARDIS.  The things she’d said on Platform One.  The way her timelines grated against his nerves, all knotted up.  Her level of conviction that the Gelth were harmful.  The faith in him she’d demonstrated in the cabinet room.  The way she’d screamed for them to let her talk to the Dalek.  The way she’d yelled at Adam’s projection as if she already knew what he’d do.  The way she’d trusted Jack from the first moment, and questioned Nancy about the child’s mother.  How nothing he told her or showed her ever seemed to upset her or frighten her.

He’d been so impressed with how quick she was, how accepting she was…and it was all a lie.

“You’re damn right she has a point,” he thundered, stepping into the doorway.  They both jumped and turned around.  “Rose, what have you done?”

“Doctor, please, it’s not what you think,” Rose said quickly as they both scrambled off the bed.

“Not what I think?” he yelled.  “I don’t even know what to _think_.  What I _know_ is that you are somehow from the future and you’re rewriting time, and that you managed to convince my TARDIS to collaborate.  So who are you?  Who are you and what the hell do you want?”

“Rose Tyler,” she said quickly, and he reeled back in frustration, throwing his hands up in the air.  “I grew up in the Powell estate with my mum, Jackie Tyler, and the first time I met you, you told me to run and then blew up my job.”

“No no no…that’s all manufactured,” he said, jabbing a finger at her.  “All of it is.  I trusted you, I…I cared about you…but you’ve been manipulating me this entire time.  None of it was real.  What the hell are you?”

“It was all real!” she yelled back.  “The things that you remember and the things that never happened, it’s all real!  I’m real, I swear to you!”

“Then tell me the truth,” he spat.  “Tell me who you are and what you think you’re doing.”

“She just told you who she is!” Jack yelled at him.

“Stay out of this _Captain_ ,” the Doctor ordered, advancing on him to stand toe to toe.  “Because you’re here under her good graces, and now I don’t even know who the hell she is.  Trust me when I say that you do _not_ want to try my patience.”  The TARDIS whined in the back of his mind, but he ignored it.

“She hasn’t changed,” Jack insisted.

“Oh, I’m glad to see that you two have been getting on so well,” the Doctor said acidly.  “The con man and the liar, match made in heaven.”

“Right, and it wasn’t you who was staring daggers at me when we first met, practically holding up a neon sign that said ‘Hands off the blonde’,” Jack replied angrily.

“All yours, Jackie-boy,” he said quickly, holding out his hands, even as he felt a stabbing pain run through him.  “I’ve got no use for either of you.”

“We’ve both saved your life!” Jack countered, hands balling up into fists.

“Yeah, and where’s that gotten me?” he asked.  “Two people in my ship that are liars and cheats and god knows what else.  I don’t even know where the hell you came from,” he added, pointing at Rose again.

“Doctor, how you met me is how we always met,” Rose said, making an attempt to sound calm.  “You took my hand and said ‘run’, and we’ve been running ever since.”

“So, what, you took over for her?  What happened to her?”

“Who?”

“The girl I met at Henrik’s.  Where is she?  Is she even still alive?”

“Doctor, it’s me,” the girl insisted.  “Honestly, it’s me.  I’m the same girl you thought I was five minutes ago.”

“No, because the girl I knew five minutes ago wouldn’t have done what you’re talking about,” he retorted.  “The Rose I _thought_ I knew would never lie to me like this.”

“I never lied to you!” she yelled.  “I just…didn’t tell you everything.”

“How is that different?”

“REALLY?” she shouted at him, incredulous.  “You, Almighty Last of the Time Lords, veritable KING of Evasiveness, you’re going to stand there and ask _me_ how that’s _different_?”

“Don’t you dare try to turn this around on me, Rose Tyler!” he shouted back.

“Oh, so I’m still Rose Tyler, then?” she snapped.

“Give me time,” he said darkly.  “I’m sure I can think of a few other names to call you.”

“Doctor!” Jack cried out.

“Oh, are you sure your memory is still working well enough, you stubborn old man?” Rose shot back at the Doctor.

“Rose!”

“Oh, I must be losing my touch if I let you get away with this for so long,” the Doctor agreed.  “But that ends, right now.”

He spun on his heel and made to leave the room.  He heard Rose make an irritated noise behind him before grabbing his arm.  He whirled around and stared at her hand, which she removed hurriedly, then at her, eyes blazing.

“Don’t touch me,” he said in a low, threatening voice.

“Just…just wait, Doctor,” she said, a little fearfully as she took a step back.  “I really can explain.”

“Oh, you can, can you?” he asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.  “Oh, that’s good.  I’d love to hear the explanation as to why you decided it would be a good idea to rip a hole in time.”

The TARDIS buzzed again in his mind, stronger, but he slapped her back.  This was more important.

“I’m not ripping a hole in anything,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, and you’d know that would you?” he asked nastily.

“Look, it’s not what you think, really,” she insisted.

“Yes, you’ve said that,” he said.  “But you’ve yet to tell me anything else to prove you’re not actually a threat, so we’re done here.”

“Oh, my god,” she gasped, shaking her head in frustration.  “How the hell am I supposed to tell you anything else when you won’t stop yelling long enough for me even start explaining?”

The Doctor stared at the fuming girl, a muscle working furiously in his jaw.  He didn’t want to listen.  He didn’t want to hear her.  Whatever she was, she’d used his brokenness, the cracks in his armor against him and wormed her way in, and he didn’t care why.  No reason was good enough.

But she still looked like _her_.  She was still looking up at him with those hazel eyes that always seemed to see past every defense he’d built up.  She was still wearing the key he’d given her.

The TARDIS groaned and finally got a message through to him.  _Let the girl speak._

“You have one minute,” he warned.

“That’s it?”

“57 seconds.”

“Oh, my…” she growled.  “Alright, look, I’m not physically from the future, only my mind.  Once upon a time, I met a man who took me away from my life as a shopgirl and showed me the universe, and taught me how to live my life so that I could make a difference.  Then…something…happened.  And we got separated.  I got trapped in another universe.  And we…didn’t manage very well on our own.  So the TARDIS pulled my consciousness back to when I first entered the ship so that I could try to fix it.”

“That’s impossible,” the Doctor scoffed.  “The TARDIS couldn’t manage something like that even within one universe, and the walls between the worlds are sealed off.”

“Yeah, impossible,” snapped Rose.  “Try telling _her_ that.”

The Doctor’s mind whirled as he started pacing.  Even _if_ what she said was true, that she was Rose, but some future consciousness of her, this was still completely unacceptable.  She knew everything that was going to happen, all the time; that was walking a dangerous, universe exploding tight rope.  Add that to the fact that all of the things he loved about her—her quick observations, sharp mind, and bravery—were all a lie.

The TARDIS buzzed again angrily. _If she didn’t have all those things, she wouldn’t have done what she did and gotten away with it so long under your nose._

Maybe so…but she was still a liar, and had been manipulating his emotions from day one.  He’d told her things, things he didn’t tell anyone, things that had been painful to even recall, and she’d made him think that it was alright, that remembering didn’t have to hurt.  But it was just an analgesic…she didn’t really care whether it hurt or not, she just wanted the information, and made him think she cared to keep him talking.  For all he knew, she was part of some future plot against him.

Again, the TARDIS buzzed, gentler this time.  _Then why would she care enough to stand in your way before you got lost?  Why would she always be so quick to assure you that you are not the monster you believe yourself to be?_

_“Someone to stand in your way before you lose yourself…and someone to help you find your way back if you do.”_

Her words from the library floated back to him and made his hearts ache.  Anger and pain and fear weren’t new to him, but she had done so much to diffuse those in such a short amount of time.  He hated that all those feelings now revolved so completely around the idea of her after everything she’d given him.

God help him, he wanted to believe it.  He wanted to believe in _her_.

“What did you mean we didn’t do very well on our own?” he asked suddenly, still stiff with tension.

Rose looked up quickly.  “Um…we just…didn’t.  That universe didn’t like me, and you…you didn’t like the universe anymore, I guess.”

“What?”

Rose sighed, and a look of resignation came across her face.  “I only exist in one universe, this one.  I’m not supposed to exist anywhere else.  Ever.  The other universe apparently thought it was correcting a mistake by erasing me from it.  Everyone started to forget who I was.  The TARDIS said that once everyone forgot me, I would stop existing entirely.”

“That’s…” the Doctor wasn’t entirely sure how to respond.  “I’m sorry,” he said finally.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said quickly.  “You thought I’d be alright.”

“And me?”

“I…don’t know.  The TARDIS was never very clear on that,” she said thoughtfully.  “She just said your losses ran deep, and you were drowning in them.  And that you were losing control.”

The Doctor shook his head slowly.  He’d lost so much.  So many people had travelled with him over the years, and were scattered across the universe.  He’d watched his planet burn, along with his entire species—family, friends, loved ones.  He couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that one tiny, insignificant human could cause so much trauma.

 _Rose Tyler is not insignificant,_ the TARDIS hummed at him.  _She has never been just a companion._

No…she never had.  She had always been so, so much more.  He had been arguing with himself almost from day one about what this girl meant to him…which was exactly why this betrayal was causing such chaos in his mind. 

But even if he could believe her, even if he accepted that she was really sent back by his TARDIS for good reasons…why come with him at all?  If it all came down to them being in incredible amounts of pain and life threatening situations, why not just walk away and save them both?

The TARDIS hummed again.  _Ask her._

“Why?” he asked abruptly.

“Why what?” she asked, confused.

“Why…all of it?” He watched her carefully.  “If you came back to save yourself from being erased in another universe and to save me from the pain of losing you, why didn’t you just walk away as soon as you came back?  Why did you come with me?”

Her eyes grew wide.  “That never even occurred to me,” she said honestly.

He gaped at her.  “How could it _never_ have occurred to you?”

“Because—“ she stopped, looking down suddenly.

“Oh, well, if you’re going to start clamming up now—“ he started, any tension that had receded coming back in full force.

She looked back up at him, and he could see tears shining in her eyes again.  “Because I love you.  And I would do it all again, even get trapped and die if I had to, if it meant I was able to spend more time with you.”  The Doctor stared at her, completely stunned.  “What’s more,” she continued softly, watching him carefully, “I think you love me too, or you will.”

“How do you…”

“You burned up a sun just to say goodbye,” she whispered.

Suddenly, the TARDIS flooded his mind with images, images of Rose, of Rose and him together.  He saw the way his own face changed when he looked at her, some of his bitterness melting away.  He saw a version of him that looked nothing like him now.  He wore pinstripes and he smiled so easily with her, and looked, in some undefinable way, more whole than he’d ever been.  Every time she laughed or smiled, she looked so beautiful and so happy.  They ran and held hands and hugged all the time.  And then she was sobbing on a beach, and he could see the man’s face streaked with tears.  He could see him staring at her bedroom door with a look of profound loss.  He saw him gasping for breath and calling her name when he tried to sleep.  He watched the hardness develop in the man’s face, he watched as recklessness took the place of courage.  He watched him bend the laws of time and space to his will, unable to care where the line was anymore.

And then he saw her again, the way she looked the first day he saw her, the smile she had when she ran to him without looking back.

“Oh, Rose,” he moaned, and was surprised when she immediately came to his arms and they held each other for a long moment.  All the things that he found incredible about this girl, all the things that, moments ago, he was certain were all lies, came out again, highlighted by what she had done for him, both when she’d travelled with him before and what she was attempting to do now.

“Hold on,” he said after a moment, another thought niggling at him and pulling him away from her far enough to look down at her.  “You’re human.  Even if you can change this…event, you’re still going to…I’m still going to lose you.”

“Um, no,” she said, looking a little shifty.  His cocked an eyebrow at her.  “Something happens…soon…that changes that.  I can’t give you specifics, mostly because except for a few mechanics, I don’t understand it myself.  But the TARDIS says I’ll be around for a long, long time.  Maybe as long as you.”

He stared at her.  No.  That wasn’t possible.  He just wasn’t that lucky.  Ever.  The TARDIS hummed reassuringly.  _Patience, Doctor._

“Once in a while, everybody lives,” Rose said quietly.

He gave up, pulling her close again and resting his cheek against the top of her head.  Whatever else happened, he admitted to himself that he loved this girl for everything that she was and everything she had done for him, and reluctantly accepted that, for some reason, she loved him too.

“Um, not that I want to disrupt this love fest,” Jack began, making the Doctor’s head snap up.  He’d forgotten the other man was there.  He glanced around and realized that they were blocking the door.  They’d trapped him in the middle of their melodrama.

“Sorry, Jack,” Rose said sheepishly, evidently realizing the same thing.

“Not a problem, I would have been just outside the door listening anyway,” he said with a grin.  “But, Doc, what are you going to do now?  Won’t you knowing what’s happening sort of screw up what she’s trying to do?”

The Doctor frowned, and looked down at Rose.  He sighed.  “Yes, it will.  I’ll have to fix it.”

“How?”

“Time Lords can suppress memories at will,” he explained.  “I can put it all behind a door, and then hide the door from myself.”

“But won’t we just end up having the same fight again later when I can tell you?” Rose asked, disconcerted.

He shook his head.  “I’ll put in a trigger.  After whatever happens…happens…the trigger will bring the memory back.”

“That’s handy,” Jack remarked.

“Extremely,” the Doctor nodded.  “I keep trying to tell you people I’m impressive, and you never seem to believe me,” he added, looking put out for a moment before looking back down at Rose.  “Rose, I need a trigger from you.  Something you cannot under any circumstances say until after…”

“But then if things go wrong, she won’t be able to tell you,” Jack said, frowning.

“Sort of the point,” the Doctor said.  “If it doesn’t work…I don’t think I wanna know that she did it twice.”  Rose nodded, chewing her bottom lip and looking thoughtful before leaning up and whispering in his ear.  Seven words.  That’s all it took.

He looked down at her again, holding her gaze, drinking in everything that she was and everything that she was offering.  Then he finally released her, intending to head to his own bedroom and bury all memory of this conversation deep in his mind, where it wouldn’t be noticed until he was allowed to see it again.

“Doctor,” Rose said softly, stopping him.  “Before you go…there’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”  He frowned at her while she gave him a calculating look, then leaned up close to him.  Her breath hitched and she paused for just a second, their faces centimeters apart, before she gently pressed her lips to his.  Her arms wound around his neck, and he held one hand to her back, bringing the other up to cup the back of her head.  Her tongue skimmed across his lips, and he opened them obligingly, deepening the kiss.  It wasn’t a kiss of passion, but one that held a promise of things to come.  When he finally pulled back, they were both breathless.

“Rose Tyler,” he breathed, but couldn’t quite form the words.

She nodded.  “Quite right, too.”


	25. Boom Town, part 1

When the Doctor told them they were going to Cardiff, Rose toyed with the idea of calling Mickey.  She hadn't even needed her passport the first time, she'd just used it as an excuse to see him while she was stringing him along.  In the end she decided against telling him about Cardiff, though she did call to see how he and Trisha were doing.  She still didn't think it would last long, but she was glad that he was with her for better reasons now, in as much as "I want a steady shag" is better than "I want to make my absent girlfriend suffer."

She had been quiet when the Doctor explained to Jack the Rift and what had happened in Cardiff in 1869.  Jack's eyes had cut to her once or twice, especially when Gwyneth was mentioned.  He had flatly refused to let the Doctor take his memories, saying that Rose needed someone on board who she could talk to.  The Doctor had fought against it, reminding the Captain how dangerous it was for him to know too much of his own future.  Rose pulled him aside and explained, without giving specifics, that Jack wouldn't be on board much longer, and promised not to tell him anything that would endanger any of them.  It also occurred to her that perhaps there was more to the Face of Boe’s knowledge than telepathy, given what had happened.  He'd finally relented, again with the threat of "on your own head."

She felt better with Jack around knowing at least some of what was happening.  The TARDIS hadn't given her any angry buzzes or appeared in her dreams, so she assumed that it was alright, for now anyway.

And so they went to Cardiff for their pit stop.  Rose remembered the geeky conversation they'd had when they explained it all to Mickey, and almost wished she had invited him after all.

"Should take another twenty-four hours," the Doctor said as they stepped out of the TARDIS. "Which means we've got time to kill."

"Oh, the irony," Rose teased, then looked over and noticed something.  "That old lady's staring."

"Probably wondering what three people could do inside a small wooden box," Jack said, patting the Doctor's shoulder.

"You're hopeless," Rose said, laughing.

"I still can't believe that thing never gets noticed," Jack said, eyeing the TARDIS.  "What's with the police box, anyway? Why does it look like that?"

"It's a cloaking device," Rose told him.

"It's called a chameleon circuit," said the Doctor, never missing an opportunity to lecture.  "The TARDIS is meant to disguise itself wherever it lands, like if this was Ancient Rome, it'd be a statue on a plinth or something. But I landed in the 1960s," he said, winking at Rose.  "It disguised itself as a police box, and the circuit got stuck."

"So it copied a real thing?" Jack asked.   "There actually were police boxes?"

"Yeah, on street corners. Phone for help before they had radios and mobiles. If they arrested someone, they could shove them inside until help came. Like a little prison cell."

"Why don't you just fix the circuit?"

"I like it," the Doctor told him.  "Don't you?"

"I LOVE it," Rose said, patting the side of the box.  Jack snorted, but the Doctor smiled.

"Besides, think about the Human Race," the Doctor went on.  "You put a mysterious blue box slap bang in the middle of town and what do they do?"  Jack raised his eyebrows.  "Walk past it. Now stop your nagging, let's go and explore!"  He took Rose's hand and started wandering off, Jack trailing behind.

"What's the plan?" she asked, skipping a little beside him.

"I don't know! Cardiff. Early 21st Century," he said.  "And the wind's coming from the... East. Trust me - safest place in the universe."

Rose grinned.  He really should learn not to say things like that.

oOoOo

In the cafe, Jack started telling the same story he had before.  Rose still laughed along with him, still not knowing how much of it to believe.  Jack had an incredible knack for exaggerating the truth for the sake of a good story.  She glanced over and caught sight of the paper the same time the Doctor did.

"And I was having such a good day," he said, disappointed as he showed them the picture.

They made their way to the government building, Jack rattling off a plan and leaving the Doctor disgruntled because he hadn't come up with it first.  Rose rolled her eyes and told them to get on with it, taking up her assigned place...then moving quickly to the unassigned exit.  The Doctor phoned before she got there, and she took off.  She tried to get a jump on Margaret, but the woman shoved her off and still managed to use her teleport as Jack and the Doctor ran up.

"She's got a teleport! That's cheating!" shouted Jack as he stopped next to her.  "Now we're NEVER gonna get her!"

"Oh, the Doctor's very good with teleports," she assured him.

Sure enough, the Doctor stepped forward and with a flick of the sonic, Margaret was back and running toward them.  She immediately turned around and ran the other way, teleporting away again.  Again, the Doctor brought her back, just a smidge closer.  She turned and vanished again, only to reappear directly in front of them, panting.

"I could do this all day," he said cheerfully.

"This is persecution," Margaret accused as she put her hands up.  "Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?"

"You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet," said the Doctor calmly.

"Apart from that," Margaret said dismissively.

The Doctor simply shook his head and took her by the arm, leading her back into the building.

"So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped," the Doctor said as they entered the presentation room.  "Your family get killed but you teleport out, just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do? You build a nuclear power station.  But what for?" he asked as they all turned to study the scale model of the nuclear plant.

"A philanthropic gesture," Margaret said haughtily.  "I've learned the error of my ways."

"And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift," the Doctor noted.

"What rift would that be?" Margaret asked innocently.

"A rift in space and time," Jack said slowly, clearly seeing through this.  "If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go schwwwupboom!"

"This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity," said the Doctor.

"Didn't anyone notice?" Rose asked.  "Isn't there someone in London CHECKING this sort of stuff?"  She still couldn't believe that Margaret had gotten this far in her plan.

"We're in CARDIFF. London doesn't care!" Margaret said derisively.  "The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice-- oh... I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native."

“And I’m sure that anyone who DID managed to catch on vanished…” Rose realized.

“There were some accidents,” Margaret said, drawing herself up.  “Accidents cannot be avoided in a project this size.”

“Riiiight,” Rose said, drawing out the word before shaking her head and turning to the Doctor.  "But if the whole thing blows up, won't she get caught in it?"

"No," the Doctor said, studying the model.  "Because she's clever."  He knocked the tiny buildings out of place and pulled up the middle section from the model, revealing the circuitry underneath.  "Fantastic."

"Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?" Jack asked excitedly.

"Couldn't have put it better myself," the Doctor replied with raised eyebrows.

"Ooh, GENIUS!" Jack said, taking the board from him to examine it more closely.  "You didn't build this," he said walking over to Margaret.

"I have my hobbies," she said with false modesty.  "A little tinkering--"

"No, no, no, I mean, you REALLY didn't build this," Jack said.  "Way beyond you."

"Probably stolen," Rose commented.  "What is it?"

"It's transport," Jack explained after a sharp look.  "You see, the reactor blows, the rift opens, phenomenal cosmic disaster, but THIS thing shrouds you in a force field, you have this energy bubble, zzhum, so you're safe. Then you feed it coordinates, stand on top, and ride the concussion all the way out of the solar system."

"It's a surfboard."

"A pan-dimensional surfboard, yeah."

"And it would've worked," Margaret said bitterly.  "I would've surfed away from this dead-end dump and back to civilization."

"Yeah, yeah, if it wasn't for us meddling kids," Rose said wearily, making Jack laugh and the Doctor smirk.  "But why?  You'd blow up a whole planet just to get a lift?"

"Like stepping on an anthill," Margaret said with a disgusted look on her face.

"How'd you think of the name?" the Doctor asked suddenly, staring up at the poster.

"What, Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh."

"I know, but how did you think of it?"

"Chose it at random, that's all," she said.  "I dunno. Just sounded good. Does it matter?"

"Blaidd Drwg," he said, turning around again with his brows furrowed.

"What does it mean?" Jack asked.

"Bad Wolf," the Doctor said, and Rose shivered.  He was noticing.  It was all starting.

"But I've heard that before, Bad Wolf," she said in a hollow voice. "I've heard that lots of times."

"Everywhere we go," the Doctor said softly.  "Two words. Following us. Bad Wolf."

Jack was watching Rose intently, but she couldn't meet his gaze.  It took all her effort just to keep her from grabbing the Doctor's hand and taking off for the TARDIS, getting them as far away from Bad Wolf as possible...

"How can they be following you?" Jack asked finally.

The Doctor stared into the middle distance for another few seconds, then shook himself.  "Nah! Just a coincidence! Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day. Never mind! Things to do." He clapped his hands and walked briskly to the door.  "Margaret, we're gonna take you home."

"Hold on, isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"We actually get to go to Raxacoricofallapatorius?"

The Doctor did a double take at her, then grinned widely.  "I can't believe you got that right on your first go!"

"Neither can I," she said, matching his grin.

"I can," Jack muttered, and Rose elbowed him.

"They have the death penalty," Margaret informed them darkly.  They all turned to her.   "The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty. With no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I am to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor?  Take me home and you take me to my death."

The Doctor fixed her with a cold stare.  "Not my problem."

oOoOo

They brought Margaret back to the TARDIS, and Rose's uneasiness grew with each step.  The Doctor, she knew, would be sure of himself as always, and she wasn't sure how to explain Margaret's plan B without blowing her cover.

"This ship is IMPOSSIBLE!" exclaimed Margaret once they got inside the TARDIS.  "It's SUPERB. How do you get the outside around the inside?"

"Like I'd give YOU the secret, yeah," the Doctor said with an eye roll.

"I almost feel better about being defeated," Margaret said magnanimously.  "We never stood a chance. This is the technology of the Gods."

"Don't worship me," he told her.  "I'd make a very bad God. You wouldn't get a day off, for starters... Jack, how we doing, big fella?"

"This extrapolator's top of the range," Jack said from his place on the floor amidst wires from the console.  He looked up and peered at Margaret.  "Where did you get it?"

"Oh, I don't know…some airlock sale?" Margaret said evasively.  Rose snorted.

"Must've been a great big heist. It's stacked with power."

"But we can use it for fuel?" the Doctor clarified.

"It's not compatible…but it should knock off about twelve hours," Jack told him.  "We'll be ready to go by morning."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Rose asked before she could stop herself.  Jack looked up at her sharply, then back down to the board in his hands.

"What d’you mean?" asked the Doctor.

"Well...I just mean...what Jack said, it's incompatible," she hedged.  "What if it...I dunno...makes the TARDIS sick or something?"

"Rose, Jack and I can handle it," the Doctor said, and Rose bristled at his patronizing tone.  "The TARDIS will be fine, and we'll be gone in the morning.  ‘Til then, we're stuck here.  Just relax."

"I'M in no hurry," Margaret put in quickly.  Rose glared at her.

"Of course not.  You're the prisoner," Rose taunted.  "How about that?  The police box is really a police box."

"You're not just police, though," Margaret replied, a twisted smile on her face.  "Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you."

"Well, you deserve it," Rose told her.

"You're very quick to say so," she retorted.  "You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood. Which makes you better than me, how, exactly...?"

"Oh please," Rose burst out.  "You're really going to sit there and try to make us feel guilty for delivering you to a sentence brought down on you long before you tried to destroy us and the planet...Honestly?  Hours after being found out for ANOTHER plan to destroy the planet?"

"Rose," the Doctor said, his voice a low warning.

She spun around, opening her mouth to say more, but felt a warning tingle in the back of her mind.  She couldn't afford to raise his suspicions again, especially so soon…but it was just so ludicrous.  She hesitated, then pushed past Margaret around the console and out the door.


	26. Boom Town, part 2

She came to a stop in front of the fountain, looking up at it as she took deep breaths.  A moment later the Doctor stepped next to her, his arms folded as he regarded the cascading water solemnly.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"You don't have to apologize," he told her without looking down.  "She was nasty and you were right."

"Then why—“

"Because it wasn't worth it," he said with a shrug.  "If she's decided to play the martyr in order to gain the sympathy vote, nothing is going to stop her.  You'd only end up tearing your own hair out."

"So you aren't buying it either, then?"

"No," he said in a hard voice.  "She's begging for mercy from a dead woman's lips.  She won't change, and I can't allow her to stay here.  What happens on her planet is beyond my control, because she is beyond my help."

They stood together for another minute in silence before the Doctor turned to go back to the TARDIS.  He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently before walking away.  She shivered a little.

"Don't stay out here too long," he called over his shoulder, misreading her reaction.  "I didn't drag you across the universe to have you die of pneumonia in Cardiff."

"Aye, aye," she called back with a grin.  She pulled her necklace out from under her shirt and fingered the charm as she thought about how different the Doctor was now from when she had known him the first time.  He was still prickly and closed off, but he had given so much more of himself than he had allowed himself to before, even ignoring the things that he could no longer remember.  She couldn't help wondering what he was going to be like in his next body, the one that was so much more open in general, and immediately felt guilty.  The Doctor in leather was the one she had now, and the one she would lose all too soon.  She wasn't going to do him the disservice of thinking too hard on who he would become.

Unfortunately, after so very long, she was beginning to miss her pinstriped Doctor even more.  She saw flashes of him here and there, in the bits of who he was that carried over, and it wrung her heart.

With a sigh, she tucked the necklace back into her shirt and made her way back to the TARDIS.

"Do I get a last request?" Margaret was saying as she walked back into the TARDIS.

"Depends what it is," the Doctor told her, nodding at Rose in acknowledgement before going back to his work.

"I grew quite fond of my little human life," Margaret said in a wistful voice.  "All those rituals... the brushing of the teeth, and the complicated way they cook things...there's a little restaurant. Just round the bay.  It became quite a favorite of mine."

The Doctor turned and eyed her speculatively before slowly walking over to the rails, leaning against them to talk to her.  "Is that what you want? A last meal?"

"Don't I have rights?" she asked defiantly.  Rose snorted.

"Oh, like she's not gonna try to escape," Jack said, speaking her thoughts exactly.

"Except I can never escape the Doctor, so where's the danger?" she asked bitterly.  Then her demeanor changed as she looked back at the Doctor.  "But I wonder if you could do it? To sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?"

"Strong enough," the Doctor said in a hard voice.

"I wonder," she said in the same challenging tone.  "I've seen you fight your enemies... now dine with them."

"You won't change my mind," he assured her.

"Prove it."

He hesitated, then shook his head and walked away from her.  "There are people out there. If you slip away just for one second, they'll be in danger."

"Except...I've got these," Jack said, holding up a couple of metal bracelets.  "You both wear one. If she moves...more than ten feet away... BZZZT!  She gets zapped by ten thousand volts."

The Doctor smiled.  "Margaret, would you like to come out to dinner? My treat?"

"Dinner and bondage," she said with a sick smile.  "Works for me."

Rose made a gagging sound and Jack smiled.  The Doctor ignored them, taking the bracelets from Jack and affixing one to his wrist before beckoning Margaret forward and slipping one on her as well.  As they made their way out, he touched Rose's hand briefly, looking intensely into her eyes for a moment.  She nodded, and the Doctor and the Slitheen left.

Rose heaved a sigh and walked over to the captain's chair, slumping down in it.

"The way I figure it," Jack said, "the look he just gave you is pretty much his version of dipping you over his arm and snogging you senseless."

Rose laughed.  "You know, I never thought of that.  I don't know if he'll ever try to do anything though.  He still thinks I'm human and fragile and short-lived."

"Yeah, how does that work, Rosie?"

"Spoilers, Jack," she said softly, a phrase that was becoming commonplace between them every time he tried to wheedle some information out of her.  "But what I'm really worried about is that extrapolator," she said, standing up again and moving closer to peer at it while Jack worked under the console to connect it.

"I dunno what you know, but from what I can see, there's nothing wrong," he said.  "Like I said, it's not compatible, so it can't fill the TARDIS up, but it can boost the radiation—open the tap a little wider."

"Are you sure that's a good thing?"

"Do you really want that _thing_ in here after tomorrow morning?" he asked.  "Anyway, it's installed now.  See, nothing happened."

"Seriously, Jack, that thing is dangerous," she said.  "Margaret—“

"Isn't even here," Jack said, taking her arm and dragging her down the corridor.  "And I don't know about you, but I really don't want to have to explain to the Doctor why it's not installed when he comes back."

"Can't you just tell him that it turned out to be more incompatible than you thought?" she asked desperately.

Jack stopped and looked at her.  Then he sighed.  "I'll tell you what, let's go have some dinner of our own, and then if you're still uneasy, I'll disconnect it.  Tell him it wasn't working right and would have burnt out."

"You will?" she asked, finally seeing a bright spot.

"I promise," he told her.  "We can at least shave a few hours off, and leave by noon."

Rose worried her lip as she considered this.  It had taken time before for the extrapolator to start causing damage.  Maybe they could use some of the energy and disconnect it before it did worse.

"Alright, fine," she assented, and they started walking down the corridor again.  "But after dinner, it's coming out."

They didn't make it through dinner though.  About halfway into the meal, the TARDIS suddenly shook violently, spilling them both onto the floor.

"Dammit, Jack!" Rose yelled as she scrambled to her feet and took off for the control room, Jack in hot pursuit.  The console room was in chaos.  Lights were flashing and the extrapolator was sparking.  Jack blew past her out the doors and looked up at the sky where the rift energy was streaking toward the sky from the top of the TARDIS.  "Jack, get in here and unplug this thing!" Rose shouted, afraid to touch it for fear of damaging it against further use.

He ran back in and pulled the wires connecting it the console, but nothing changed.  "I don't know what to do!" he shouted at her.

"You could try listening to me in the first place next time!" she shouted.  "I'm going to find the Doctor.”  The door opened just as she reached it, and the Doctor sprinted past her.

"What the hell are you doing?" he thundered as he reached the console.

"It just went crazy!" cried Jack.

"It's the rift!" the Doctor yelled.  "Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's gonna disappear!"

Sparks flew as the Doctor and Jack both worked furiously around the console.

"Jack, the extrapolator!" Rose yelled, coming up the ramp toward the console.

"I've disconnected it but it's still feeding off the engine!" he shouted.  "It's USING the TARDIS - I can't stop it!"

"Never mind Cardiff," the Doctor said darkly, "It's gonna rip open the planet!

"But how do we stop it?" Jack asked desperately.  "What's actually HAPPENING?"

"Oh, just little ME!" Margaret cried gleefully, ripping the arm off her skin suit to reveal her Slitheen claw.  Rose tried to dodge, but the claw still got her around the neck.  The Doctor rushed forward, murder in his eyes.  "One wrong move and she snaps like a promise," vowed the Slitheen.

"I might've known," the Doctor said, coming to a halt, blue eyes blazing.

"I've had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it," she spat as she moved closer, dragging Rose with her.  "You, flyboy, put the extrapolator at my feet," she ordered Jack.  Jack hesitated, and Rose made a strangled noise as Margaret's grip tightened around her neck.  Jack looked at the Doctor, who nodded without taking his eyes off Margaret, and put the extrapolator down at her feet.

"Thank you," she said pleasantly.  "Just as I planned."

"Your plan was to blow up the nuclear power station," Rose choked out.  The Doctor's eyes darted to her for a second and a flicker of pain crossed his face before he schooled his features and trained his gaze on Margaret again.

"Failing that, if I were to be... arrested... then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own," she explained.  "Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to Plan B!  To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift.  And what a power source it found," she said, glancing around at the console room in awe.  "I'm back on schedule... thanks to you."

"The rift's gonna convulse," Jack warned.  "She'll destroy the whole planet."

"And you with it," she hissed.  She pushed Rose roughly to the side while keeping a hold on her neck to free herself to step onto the extrapolator.  "While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back boys... surf's up."

Suddenly, the panel in front of Margaret burst open.  Brilliant white light spilled out of it.  Margaret looked at in surprise, and then up at the Doctor.  Rose averted her eyes from it, but the weak bond in her head exploded into golden light.  She could hear a vague singing somewhere in the back of her head.

"Of course, opening the rift means you'll pull this ship apart," he said calmly.

"So sue me," Margaret sneered.

"It's not just any old power source," the Doctor continued, his voice still eerily calm under the circumstances.  "It's the TARDIS. My TARDIS. The best ship in the universe."

"It'll make wonderful scrap," Margarat replied nastily.

"That's the heart of the TARDIS you're seeing. This ship's alive. You've opened its soul."

"It's ... so bright..." Margaret said, her voice now dreamy.  She stared into the light, seeming to forget about the rest of them, or even where she was.

"Look at it, Margaret," urged the Doctor, his voice hypnotic.

"Beautiful..."

"Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch.  Look at the light."

Margaret stood transfixed by the light, and Rose felt her grip loosen.  She pried her way loose and stumbled away to be caught by Jack.  The Doctor kept his gaze trained on Margaret as she stared into the light, a blissful smile doming to her lips.  She looked up at the Doctor, who gave her a small smile.

"Thank you," she said softly, and the light engulfed her.  When it died, her skin suit flopped to the ground empty.

"Don't look," ordered the Doctor, springing into action.  "Stay there, close your eyes!"  He slammed a few levers down, and the panel closed.  "Now, Jack, come on, shut it all down. Shut it down!  Rose, that panel over there—turn  all the switches to the right."

The three of them worked furiously, the console still exploding with sparks.  After a moment, the shaking finally let up, the rift no longer pouring through it.  The Doctor sprinted out the door, checking the skies.  He came back slowly after confirming this.

"Nicely done," the Doctor said finally, coming to a stop beside the ramp.  "Thank you, all."

"Guess Margaret must have carried out her own death sentence," Jack commented, looking at the skin suit in disgust.

"No, I don't think she's dead," the Doctor said, looking down.

"Then, where'd she go?" Rose asked.

"She looked into the heart of the TARDIS," he said.  "And even I don't know how strong that is. And the ship's telepathic—like I told you, Rose. Gets inside your head. Translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts..."  He knelt down next to the skin suit for a closer look, Rose and Jack joining him after sharing a brief look.  He reached inside after a moment, pulling out the egg.  "Here she is!"

"She's...an egg," Rose said.

"Regressed to her childhood," the Doctor said happily.

"She's an egg?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"She can start again!" the Doctor told them.  "Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell 'em to bring her up properly, she might be all right!"

"Or she might be worse," Jack commented.

"That's her choice," the Doctor replied.

"She's an egg," Rose repeated, still not completely believing it after seeing it twice.

"She's an egg," the Doctor agreed.  "And now," the Doctor said, hopping up and placing the egg carefully in a container on top of the console.  "If I'm right, which I almost always am—“ Rose snorted “—then we should be all powered up."  He stopped to examine a few readings on the monitor.  “Yep, we can leave.  Opening the rift filled us up with energy.  But first...Rose," he called, spinning around smoothly and beckoning to her.  She stood up and walked over to him warily.  He lifted a hand and carefully pulled aside her scarf, revealing the dark red welts from the Slitheen's claw.  Pain flashed across his face again.  "You know, I live for the day I don't have to apologize to you at the end of an adventure," he said softly as he gently touched one of the marks, already turning purple.

"You never need to apologize for someone else, Doctor," she whispered.  His eyes met hers for a moment, and she saw him swallow before looking back down at her neck.

"Well, maybe I can at least make up for them," he said, pulling out his sonic.  He changed the setting and then pointed it at her neck, hovering it just a few inches above her skin.  Some of the soreness went away instantly, and by the time he was done, she felt good as new.  "Better?" he asked, his fingers trailing over the areas where the marks had been.  She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.  He smiled down at her.

"Did you two want me to leave?" Jack asked suddenly, breaking the moment.

"Off we go, then," the Doctor said briskly, his head snapping up as he stepped quickly away from Rose.  Rose glared at Jack, who smiled cheekily at her.  "Always moving on," the Doctor continued, not noticing as he pulled a lever.

"Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius," Jack said.  "Now, you don't often get to say that," he added with a smirk.

"We'll just stop by and pop her in the hatchery," the Doctor said, moving to the controls. "Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again! A second chance."

"Here's to second chances," Rose said under her breath.


	27. The Lonely God

After leaving Margaret on Raxacoricofallapatorius, the Doctor left them spinning in the Vortex for a bit while he fit in some minor repairs.  Jack had wandered off, probably once again on a quest to find the TARDIS bar, which remained stubbornly hidden after the first time he had drunk half the contents and wandered the halls singing Danny Boy and hitting on the ship.  Rose was sitting cross-legged in the captain’s seat of the console room with a photo album in her lap, organizing the snapshots she had collected over the last several months.  The Doctor glanced at her from time to time from his place at the console.  He found that he quite liked these quiet moments with her.  Saving the universe and running for their lives was fun, sure, but he got an odd satisfaction out of simply sharing space with her, without any real purpose or drive, simply because they enjoyed each other’s company.

Which, of course, was the root of the Doctor’s arguments with himself.  Arguments that he was steadily losing ground in.  Rose was unlike anyone, and for reasons who couldn’t quite define, he found himself caring less about the Rules and more about her.  Which was very, very dangerous territory.

“Doctor, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Rose said suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Let me ask you something, Rose,” he said, studying the part he’d been polishing critically.  “Do you think you’ll ever run out of questions?”

“For you?  Never,” she said as she got up and stepped up next to him.  “You’re fascinating, you are.”

He arched an eyebrow and chanced a glance down at her as she smiled up at him.  He sighed.  “Ask your questions, then, if you must,” he said.

If he was completely honest, he was almost starting to enjoy her questions.  She never pushed him to reveal anything he really didn’t want to, and every memory he shared with her ached a little less.  He knew he didn’t deserve it, but he couldn’t deny it, either.

“What was it like growing up on Gallifrey?” Rose asked.

The Doctor hesitated.  That was still one of the more sensitive topics.  The place had burned…he had burned it…remembering it was still extremely painful.  Remembering why he left in the first place, the reasons for his bitterness long before it was gone was…beyond his threshold.

“Doctor, you don’t have to tell me anything if it’s too painful,” Rose assured him gently, putting a hand on his arm.  He glanced down at her.  All quick, sarcastic remarks that had popped into his head about her wanting psychoanalyze him and find the root of his pain died in his throat when he saw her hazel eyes wide and sympathetic.

“Lonely,” he said finally in a hoarse voice.  “It was very…lonely.”  He paused again, then put the part in his hands down and sank wearily to the captain’s seat.  Rose allowed him his distance, leaning on the console.  “Children of Gallifrey were taken from their families at the age of eight to enter the Academy.  There’s an…initiation that we had to go through.  There was this…gap in the fabric of reality.  You could see the whole Vortex through it.  The Untempered Schism.  You stand there, eight years old…staring at the raw power of time and space, just a child.  Some would be inspired…some would run away…and some would go mad.”  He stared into the middle distance, remembering the horror of that moment.

“Which were you?” Rose asked after a moment.

“Oh, one of the ones that ran, obviously,” he said, looking up at her again.  “Never stopped.”

Rose nodded, studying him.  “But why lonely?  You couldn’t have been the only one to be frightened.”

“No…” He leaned back, shoving his hands in his pockets.  “But it didn’t take me long to establish myself as something of a maverick.” He paused again, old wounds opening and burning in his mind.  “The Citadel of the Time Lords was situated in the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, isolated by a glass dome.  That…said a lot about them.  The oldest and most mighty race in the universe…looking down on the galaxies below…sworn never to interfere…only to watch…” He could feel her eyes watching him carefully, but he stared fixedly at the console.  “I didn’t agree.  I didn’t think that we should have the power to change things for the better and never use it.  Later, long after I left, I was put on trial more than once for breaking that code.  But in the beginning…I was simply alone.  Most others avoided me, like rebellion was contagious.”

Rose was quiet for a moment as she digested this.  It wasn’t totally beyond her definition of the Doctor that he was a rebel, but it was hard to believe that simply wanting to help people rather than just watch them suffer was enough to make him such a pariah.  She pictured the lonely little boy whose only crime was wanting to help, who couldn’t or wouldn’t understand why that was such a terrible thing.  Her heart broke a little, even as several pieces of her Doctor became much clearer.

“They really put you on trial for helping people?” she asked finally.

The Doctor nodded.  “For breaking their non-interference policy, for recklessness, for genocide…although that one was…a bit of a mix-up,” he added, shuddering when he remembered the Valeyard.   “Really, it was just another form of arrogance, to use my…talents to right what I thought was wrong.”

“Hasn’t stopped you,” she observed.

“No, it hasn’t,” he said with a smirk.  “And it won’t.  Saved their hides a time or two as well.  They actually tried to make me Lord President at one point,” he added in horror.

“You ran away again, didn’t you?” she asked with a teasing smile.

“Fast as I could,” he said fervently.

“So is that why you started taking human companions?” she asked.  “To ease the loneliness?”

“They weren’t all human,” he said slowly, considering her question.  “But yes, I suppose.  Doesn’t work well, though.  I still see things and feel things differently than humans, and there were times that disconnect just made it worse.  And now…”

“Now you have no choice,” she said quietly.

“They’re all gone,” the Doctor whispered, his voice breaking just slightly.  “They shunned me, disowned me, used me, persecuted me…but they were still my people.  I thought I was lonely…it wasn’t anything compared to—“

“Compared to now,” Rose said quietly.

He looked up at her finally.  She didn’t say it as self-deprecation, or fishing for compliments, he knew that.  She wasn’t even considering herself into the equation, which was…so very her.  But her words from Platform One, when he’d asked her what she was afraid of, floated back to him: _“Leaving people behind.  Leaving them alone.  Forgotten by a universe that was too busy to notice…sometimes, living is harder than dying.”_  

Somehow, with this tiny, fragile, young human made him feel less alone than he had in a long time, possibly ever.  Aside from any arguments in his head that hinted at something deeper, he realized that Rose Tyler was the best friend he ever had.

“Well, straight after the war, certainly,” he said finally.  “But now…it’s not so bad.”

She looked into his eyes, and he saw understanding dawn as she smiled at him.  “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”  He looked at her for another second, then cleared his throat and got to his feet.  “So, now that the Q and A has reached a conclusion, I’m going to finish the repairs that you so neatly interrupted, and then we’ll be off to Kyoto.”

As he reached the console, she surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck in a tight hug.  He hugged her back, though he was confused at the way she clung to him almost desperately for a moment, as if it was more to comfort herself than him.  She pulled back after a moment, and after a slight hesitation leaned up and kissed his cheek before moving back to the seat and her photo album.

He smiled a little, bemused, and it was a long moment before he was able to concentrate on his repairs rather than the feel of her soft lips on his cheek.

oOoOo

She hurtled through space, spinning and twisting and _dancing_ through time.  She took them to Raxacoricofallapatorius, where they gave the Slitheen female a second chance.  Her beloved Thief took the brilliant Wolf and the handsome Captain to Kyoto, Japan in 1336.  Her Doctor once again found himself and his companions in danger, relying on Her to take them away, spin away into the Vortex, to keep them safe.

For a moment, they were happy.  They laughed and joked, and She was happy too.  Her Thief was already so close to the Wolf; they were laying the groundwork for something neither could have dreamed.  Their names were written in the stars of this universe, and this one alone, and they were only beginning to discover it.

But her Wolf was uneasy.  Even through the faint echo of the bond, She could feel her terror and sorrow.  Things would play out, must play out, the way they had, or all was lost, for this one adventure.  It would break the Wolf’s heart to let him go, to walk away.  But she must in order to save him.  Save him from so much.  She had to become the Wolf to save the Thief.

The Captain watched her Wolf.  He knew something was coming, but not what.  He did not know the hard path he faced.  He was only now learning who he could be, and now he had to become the man he was meant to be.  He was going to sacrifice so much, and gain so much, though it would be a long time before he could give up the anger to see this.

Her Thief, her brilliant Doctor, did not see.  He’d blinded himself to allow for the opportunity he didn’t think he deserved.  He saw only the Wolf, and her smile.  Already he lived for that, he cherished it.  He did not see what was to come.  He did not see the loss he had to bear to realize what he’d gained.  He did not see the choice he would have to make that would break his hearts in two.  He did not see his willing sacrifice for the one he loved.

She saw it all.  What they were, what they could be, what they could lose.  Her Wolf’s timeline was still uncertain.  If she tried to change things now, they would all be lost.  If she couldn’t avoid the fall, three hearts would shatter, one would stop, and two would bleed forevermore.  If she could save herself, she could save them both, and they would dance amongst the stars forever.

The Wolf, the Captain, and the Thief, on another great adventure.  She hoped it would not be their last.

 

 

 


	28. Bad Wolf

Rose woke up on the hard ground in a pool of light.  She looked around blearily, but couldn't see anything beyond it.  There was something…she was doing…something…familiar.  She looked up to see a man crouched next to her.  "What happened?" she croaked.

"It's all right…it's the transmat," he said.  "Does your head in.  Get a bit of amnesia. What's your name?"

"Rose. But…where's the Doctor?"

"Just remember—do what the Android says," the man said.  "Don't provoke it. The Android's word is law."

Rose stared at him.  No.  It couldn't be time for that.  Not yet.  There was so much more she wanted to say to this Doctor, so much more she wanted to do..."No," she said weakly.

"Positions, everyone!" called the stage manager.  "Thank you!"

"Come on. Hurry up!" Roderick—he was called Roderick, she remembered—said, helping her to her feet.  "Steady, steady…"

"No, this can't be happening…not yet, oh please no," Rose whimpered.

"C'mon, you never know," Roderick said, smiling a little in anticipation.  "Might win.  You get to live and go home with a stack of credits."  He dashed up to his podium.

She wouldn't die here.  She couldn't.  The disintegrator beam was just another transmat after all, right?  It wasn't until later than things got really hairy…she tried, with little success, to push those thoughts out of her head, walking slowly up to her podium.

"Android activated!" shouted the floor manager.

"Welcome, to 'The Weakest Link'!"

She answered the questions, just enough to keep from being voted off, and she still winced when the beam hit the contestants voted off.  She didn't laugh this time, but did have a sort of numb detachment that was probably plain to anyone watching.  She didn't care.  Because this wasn't the scary part.  The other contestants might be terrified, but now that she'd made her peace with this particular moment in time, she just wanted it over with.

The Doctor and Captain Jack found her in the final round, just as they had before.  And just as she had before, she ran to them, hoping to get something out, anything, to remind Jack that this wasn't the end for her, not yet, to keep the Doctor from thinking she was dead.  And just like before, the transmat beam hit her in the back before she got close enough.

oOoOo

She had run to them, hoping they would save her, and he watched her die.  He fell to his knees as she fell to dust.  His beautiful, amazing girl, the one who had done so much for him, so much that she didn’t even know, in so short a time…she was gone.  He touched the pile of remains just to remind himself that it was real, while Jack screamed at the criminals in charge.  He rose numbly as they were arrested, and followed along on autopilot as they were processed.  At some point, reality started to set in, and the shock gave way to a burning, boiling rage.  He stayed quiet until he was sure Jack was part of the plan, and then they left the prison, none too nicely, but far more nicely than any of them deserved.  The programmers did nothing to ebb his anger.  They used the same excuses every bureaucratic murderer ever had: we're just doing our jobs.  The Controller told him it didn't matter.  _Rose_ didn't matter. 

She mattered to _him_ , and that was _all_ that mattered.

Then Jack appeared with the revelation from the TARDIS.  It was a transmat beam, not a disintegrator beam.  Rose Tyler was still alive.  He just had to find her.  And he would.  The rage was joined by a single minded desire to get her back.  He'd thought anger at her death had given him drive, but it was nothing compared to the need to find her again.

And then there were Daleks.

They'd patched through a visual, and every muscle in him tightened when he saw her terrified form in the middle of that group of Daleks.  And they tried to give _him_ an ultimatum.

" **WE HAVE YOUR ASSOCIATE. YOU WILL OBEY OR SHE WILL BE EXTERMINATED.** "

"No," he said calmly, and felt all heads jerk to him.  They didn't get to give ultimatums.  This was twice now that he had thought she was dead because of them.  He wasn't going to let that happen.  And this time, they didn't want to feel the sun.  This time, they were handing him a reason destroy them on a platter, and he would be damned if he wasn't going to take it.  They didn't get to give ultimatums, because he wasn't losing her again, and he wasn't letting them get away again.

" **EXPLAIN YOURSELF.** "

"I said 'no'."

" **WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS NEGATIVE**? **"**

"It means 'no'."

" **BUT SHE WILL BE DESTROYED**."

"No!” he yelled, jumping to his feet.  “'Cause this is what I'm gonna do: I'm gonna rescue her. I'm gonna save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek Fleet, and then I'm gonna save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, I'm gonna wipe every last STINKING Dalek outta the sky!"

Fire burned in his veins, and when he looked at Rose, any resolve that had yet to get on board stood to attention at the look of pride in her eyes, one that he'd never thought he'd deserve again, and didn't think he'd ever completely deserve from her.  But he could bloody well try.

" **BUT YOU HAVE NO WEAPONS**! **NO DEFENCES! NO PLAN**!"

"Yeah," he said, a predatory grin spreading across his face.  "And doesn't that scare you to death? Rose?"

"Yes, Doctor?" she asked, her voice even more beautiful for the fact that he’d never thought he’d hear it again.

"I'm coming to get you."

oOoOo

By the time the TARDIS materialized around her, Rose was in a state of shock.  She knew they had survived before, but it still boggled her mind just _how good_ the Doctor could be when he had a reason.

She was already diving for the floor when the Doctor called to her, shielding herself behind a coral strut against the Dalek debris that Jack's gun threw around.  As soon as it was clear, she jumped up and launched herself at the Doctor, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder, breathing in the scent of leather before it was too late.  He clung to her just as tightly, needing to reassure himself that she was, in fact, alive.

"Feels like I haven't seen you in years," she said softly.

"Told you I'd come and get you," he said into her ear.

Rose pulled away just enough to look in his eyes.  "Never doubted it," she told him sincerely.

"Don’t," he said fiercely, eyes blazing as he brought a hand up to her cheek.  "As long as I’m breathing, I’m always going to come for you.  You all right?"

"Yeah," she said nuzzling into his hand slightly.  "You?"

"Not bad. Been better," he admitted, running his thumb over her cheek before finally pulling away to examine the smoldering remains of the Dalek.

"Hey, don't I get a hug?" Jack asked.

"Ahh, come here!" she said happily.

"I was talking to him," he teased, making them both laugh as they threw their arms around each other.  "Welcome home," he told her. Then, soft enough that the Doctor couldn't hear, "This is going to be bad, isn't it?"  Rose swallowed hard before nodding.  Jack let out a little breath then nodded back.  They both turned back to the Doctor.

"So explain to me how this lot escaped the Time War, Doctor," she said, walking towards him.

"The Time War?" Jack asked, surprised.  "I thought that was just a legend."

"I was there," the Doctor said grimly.  "The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords. With the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them.  I almost thought it was worth it," he continued quietly.  "Now it turns out they died for nothing."

"There's thousands of them now," Rose told him.  "We could hardly stop ONE. What're we gonna do?"

"No good stood round here chin-wagging!" he said cheerfully. “Human race, you'd gossip all day. The Daleks have got the answers –let’s go and meet the neighbors."

Rose studied him as he faced down first the group of Daleks and then the Emperor.  She loved that no matter what the odds, what the danger, he always stood tall and righted every wrong simply because he was the one who could.  Still, she watched his face change from anger and hatred to dread mixed with pity as he realized what the Daleks had become.  That was what made him different.  Not the courage, or the strength, or the genius...it was the fact that he could find a way to feel sorrow for even his greatest enemies when they became so bastardized that they hated their own existance.

When they finally went back to the TARDIS, Rose watched him bow his head and lean against the TARDIS doors.  She walked over to him quietly and took his hand.  He looked down at her with eyes filled with pain and regret that didn't belong to him, and a sort of helpless indecision, not knowing how to fix this.  She put her other hand up to his cheek, and he closed his eyes for a moment.  When he opened them again, she saw determination return to his face before he leapt for the controls again.

She felt herself hurtling toward inevitability as they returned to the GameStation and the Delta Wave was discussed.  It would never work.  The Doctor knew it from the first moment, but worked quickly against it as Jack brought out the extrapolator and gave them a force field.  She fought to remain calm as plans for a battle were thrown around.  She did note with some strange satisfaction that the Doctor said goodbye to Lynda with a 'y' almost absently, without the previous awkwardness, then Jack was walking toward them.

"It's been fun!" he said cheerfully, but the smile quickly drained from his face.  "But I guess this is goodbye."

"Jack..." Rose trailed off, unsure what to say to him.  She couldn't give him empty promises this time...she knew they were hollow.  Tears burned in her eyes as she said, "We'll always have the Blitz."

"Rose," he said, smiling a little as he cupped her face in his hands, "You are worth fighting for."  He placed a brief, chaste kiss on her lips before turning to the Doctor.  "Wish I'd never met you, Doctor!" he said with a grin before placing his hands on the Doctor's face.  "I was much better off as a coward."  He gave the Doctor a kiss as well, then placed a hand on each of their shoulders, squeezing gently before steeling himself and pointing toward the door.  "See ya in hell."

And then he was gone.  Rose watched him depart as a single tear rolled down her cheek.  She didn't even notice until she felt the Doctor's knuckle gently wipe it away.  She looked at him then, and they shared a look of hopeless acceptance, though for entirely different reasons.  The Doctor looked away first, returning to the only plan he had, destructive as it was.  Rose watched him for a moment before following suit.

"Suppose..." Rose trailed off.  She already knew the answer. 

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You said 'suppose'," the Doctor urged.

"No, I was just thinking... I mean, obviously you can't, but... you've got a time machine. Couldn't go back a few days and start this then?  Make sure it would work right _now_ , before they ever even knew you were here?"

"Soon as the TARDIS lands in that second, I become part of events," he said without looking up.  "Stuck in the timeline."

"Yeah, I sort of figured that," she said weakly.

"There's another thing the TARDIS could do," the Doctor said after a moment.  "It could take us away.  We could leave.  Let history take its course.  We go to Marbella in 1989."

"Yeah," she agreed softly after swallowing the lump in her throat at his familiar words.  "But you'd never do that."

"No, but you could ask," he said, looking up to hold her gaze.  "Never even occurred to you, did it?"

"Well, I'm just too good!" she said, forcing a tight smile.  He smiled back, eyes shining with pride and affection.  Just then, the computer whirred to life around them, catching the Doctor's attention.  

"The Delta Wave's started building," he said, jumping up and rushing to the terminals.  "How long does it need?"  He sat down quickly and hit a few keys while Rose simply watched him sadly.  After a few seconds, he slumped, all his denial shattering around him.

"How bad is it?" she choked out.

He sat still for a few more seconds, then suddenly jumped up, eyes bright.  "Rose Tyler, you're a genius!" he cried as he rushed back to her and smacked a kiss on her forehead.  "We can do it! If I use the TARDIS to cross my own timeline…yes!"  He shot off for the TARDIS. 

Rose hesitated, glancing around her.  If she stayed, they would both die.  If she allowed him to send her away, then she could still save him.  She felt a few tears fall, but she wiped them away hurriedly, taking a deep breath to steel herself.  She plastered an excited look on her face that she hoped would pass inspection and followed quickly into the TARDIS.

"Hold that down and keep position," he ordered as she entered the console room.

"What's it do?"

"Cancels the buffers," he told her, busy at the computer...enabling Emergency Program One. "If I'm very clever—and I'm more than clever, I'm BRILLIANT—I might just save the world. Or rip it apart..."

"I'd go for the first one," she said with false cheer even as her eyes burned.

"Me too. Now, I've just got to go and power up the Game Station. Hold on!"

"Doctor," she said quickly.  He stopped for a second and turned.  "I...just hurry up," she finished weakly.  She saw his facade crack, just for a second, then he nodded and ran out the doors.

A moment later, the time rotor wheezed to life, and Rose’s resolve shattered.  She couldn't do this.  She couldn't leave him.  What if she couldn't get back in time?  If she really needed to be Bad Wolf, couldn't she just open the TARDIS while they were still there?  She ran to the door, pleading with the Doctor to let her out.  It was so reminiscent of the first time, and that just made it worse. 

oOoOo

The Doctor watched the TARDIS dematerialize in front of him and felt his hearts breaking as she screamed for him to let her out.  He bowed his head and closed his eyes for a moment when the box was fully gone.  She didn’t know the truth of the situation…that even if he could get the Delta Wave to work, there was no way he could fine tune it.  Everyone, including him, would be wiped out.  He couldn’t let her die.  Not her.  Not Rose.

It was fitting that she should be his last companion.  The one person that had changed his life so completely, that had made him feel alive again, gave him a purpose again, after everything he’d lost.  She was the best, and the last.  But at least she would survive.  His precious Rose would still be breathing even if his hearts stopped beating.

He swallowed hard and lifted his head, eyes burning as he turned back to his fatal assignment.

oOoOo

Rose leaned heavily against the doors as she heard the hologram begin speaking behind her.

_"This is Emergency Program One. Rose, now listen, this is important. If this message is activated, then it can only mean one thing.  We must be in danger. And I mean fatal. I'm dead or about to die any second with no chance of escape.  And that's okay. Hope it's a good death."_

Rose slowly walked up the ramp.  Typical of him to assume there was no chance of escape if he didn't think of it. She laughed bitterly as the voice continued.

_"But I promised to look after you, and that's what I'm doing. The TARDIS is taking you home."_

"Not for long," she promised.  "I'm coming back."

 _"And I bet you're fussing and moaning now—typical. But hold on and just listen a bit more. The TARDIS can never return for me. Emergency Program One means I'm facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine. So this is what you should do: let the TARDIS die.  Just let this old box gather dust. No one can open it; no one will even notice it. Let it become a strange little thing standing on a street corner. And over the years, the world will move on and the box will be buried. And if you want to remember me, then you can do one thing. That's all. One thing."_ Again, he turned, looking straight at her, always knowing her so well.  _"Have a good life. Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life."_

"Better with two," she whispered hoarsely, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. 


	29. Parting of the Ways

She leaned against a coral strut as the time rotor ground to a halt, slowly making her way outside.  She closed the door behind her and leaned against it, trying without success to control herself.  One way or another, she was getting back to him.  She could make it across dimensions, then she could do this.

"I knew it!" she heard Mickey yell behind her as he ran up.  "I was all the way down Clifton's Parade, and I heard the engines and I thought 'there's only one thing that makes a noise like that'."  She turned slowly as he got closer.  He stopped just in front of her, looking at her in concern.  "What is it?"

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.  He reached for her and held her while the tears poured down her cheeks.

Eventually, Mickey called her mum.  Rose had finally gotten control of herself when Jackie made an appearance, suggesting they all go for chips.

"Two hundred thousand years in the future, the Doctor is fighting for the whole universe," Rose said coldly.  "I'm not going for chips."

"Like you said, that's a long way off," Jackie said dismissively, taking her arm and trying to pull her away.

"But it's not," she said, pulling her arm free.  "It's right now.  It's happening right now.  They're dying, and I'm stuck here."

"Listen to me," Jackie said firmly, standing in front of her.  "God knows I have hated that man, but right now, I love him, and d'you know why? Because he did the right thing. He sent you back to me.  Just like YOU said he would."

"But this isn’t right, Mum," Rose said softly.  "Out there, it's a better life.  It's not the travelling, it's not seeing things that no one else here would see—it’s the way he lives his life, the way he taught me.   Mickey, he showed you that too.  That you don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away, and I just can't—" She stopped abruptly, unable to go on.  She shook her head and walked away.

She ended up near a park.  She tried to remember what she'd done last time, what she'd said to make them see.  She could remember now what happened when she’d returned to the GameStation, but everything in between was a blur of high emotion and golden light.  She needed their help; she couldn't open the TARDIS without them.  But she couldn't see a way to make them understand. 

"You can't live your life like this," Mickey said as he walked up to her slowly.  "He would want better for you."

"I can't just give up," she said softly.

"But what else can you do?"

She looked up and hesitated, wondering if he would really believe her.  That's when she saw it.  Bad Wolf, written over and over, all over the playground.  She smiled fiercely.  He would believe her, because he had.  And she _would_ get back to the Doctor.

"Come on," she said quickly, pulling him back toward the TARDIS.  She explained on the way about the TARDIS being alive, about the heart of the TARDIS showing when it got pulled apart.  If she could just tap into that, then she could get back to him, save him.

"Rose," Mickey said, taking her arm and pulling her to a stop just outside the TARDIS.  "If you go back, you're going to die."

"That's a risk I've got to take," she said firmly, knowing he'd never understand if she told him for certain that she wouldn't.  As long as the Doctor was still alive, they would both survive.

"You really love him," Mickey said softly.  Her eyes burned again, but she only nodded.  "Well alright then.  What are we waiting for?"

He ran for his car, and they hooked the chain up to the console.  She didn't think it would work, but Jackie wasn't open to anything right now, so it was this or nothing.  Mickey ran back to the car and floored it.  The chain pulled tight and shook, but the console stayed firmly in place.  The car finally stalled without raising it an inch.

Rose leaned against the console, frustration and despair seeking to overtake her determination.

"It was never gonna work, sweetheart," Jackie said, coming inside.  "And the Doctor knew that. He just wanted you to be safe."

"I can't give up," she replied hoarsely.

"Lock the door. Walk away."

"Dad wouldn't give up," Rose said as inspiration hit, turning to her mother.

"Well, he's not here, is he?  And even if he was, he'd say the same."

"No, he wouldn't," she said, speaking not of the Pete Tyler that had died in the road, but of the man she'd known in the parallel world.  Luckier than the one here, but still him.  The strong, courageous director of Torchwood.  The man who took her in as his own, who risked everything to save both her and Jackie at Canary Wharf.  "He'd tell me to try anything. If I could save the Doctor's life…try anything."

"Well, we're never gonna know," Jackie said dismissively.

"Well, I know," Rose said firmly.  "'Cause I met him. I met Dad."

"Don't be ridiculous," Jackie said quietly, anger flashing in her eyes.

"The Doctor took me back in time, and I met Dad."  Close enough to the truth.  She had met him once, the first time, when she'd nearly destroyed time to save him.

"Don't say that," Jackie said.

"Remember when Dad died?  There was someone with him.  The reports said so."  Jackie stared at her.  "You read them, mum.  The boy who was driving, he kept saying that there was a blonde girl, one who held his hand until the ambulance arrived."

"Stop it," Jackie warned.

"That was me, Mum,” she told her, tears streaming down her face.  “That's how good the Doctor is—“

"Stop it!" she yelled, cutting Rose off.  "Just stop it!"  She ran out the doors without looking back.  Rose leaned against the console, thinking about Pete, about her mum and Tony, about her whole life rolling out ahead of her.  She thought about the Doctor, fighting against time, knowing that even if he succeeded, he would once again be doing it at the cost of an entire planet.  Finally, she wiped the tears from her cheeks and walked back to the doors.

"So what're we gonna do now?" Mickey asked as she stepped outside.

"We…wait," she said, a smile coming to her lips.  She remembered now where they had gotten the truck.

Mickey gave her a strange look.  "For what?"

Rose looked at him, then down at the corner.  It was another couple minutes, but she finally saw it.  "For that," she told him happily, as the huge recovery truck rolled to a stop in front of them.

"Right," Jackie said, hopping out of the driver's seat.  "You've only got this until six o' clock, so get on with it."

"Mum...you are a star," Rose said, grinning widely at her.

"Time you noticed it," Jackie said with a smile.  "You were right about your dad, sweetheart. He was full of mad ideas, and this is exactly what he would've done. Now, get on with it before I change my mind," she finished, tossing the keys at Mickey.

They chained the console to the truck and tried again.  Rose shouted for more power when she heard the console start creaking.  The truck outside revved louder and louder, and the creaking became more pronounced, until suddenly the console flipped up and the chain burst off and was thrown outside.  Rose stepped closer as the panel raised higher, and looked into the light shining out.  She heard a gentle song surround her, and her mind began to burn with a golden light...

oOoOo

The Doctor's hands shook as he gripped the plunger that would set off the Delta wave.  He thought of Rose, two thousand years and millions of miles away.  He couldn't do it.  He couldn't destroy another world he loved, the world _she_ belonged to, for the sake of the Daleks.  Not again.

"Coward," he said finally, releasing his grip and stepping back.  "Any day."

" **MANKIND WILL BE HARVESTED BECAUSE OF YOUR WEAKNESS** ," the Emperor said triumphantly.

"And what about me?" he asked.  "Am I becoming one of your angels?"

" **YOU ARE THE HEATHEN** ," the Emperor declared.  " **YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED**."

Jack was gone.  Lynda was gone.  Everyone who had stayed to fight was dead.  But Rose was safe.  At least he had made sure of that.  The last good thing he could do.  "Maybe it's time," he said finally, closing his eyes.  Then he heard the engines.  He kept his eyes closed, telling himself it was his imagination.  He'd sent it away.

 " **ALERT! TARDIS MATERIALISING!** "

His eyes slammed open and he spun around in shock.  There, in front of him, against all odds, was his magnificent ship.  But why?  How did it come back here, and why?

" **YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE**!" the Emperor cried as the TARDIS finished materializing.

The doors opened, and a golden light spilled out as Rose stepped out of the ship.  The light spread and curled in tendrils around her as she stepped forward while the Doctor stumbled back, falling to the floor.

"What've you done?" he asked her fearfully.

"I looked into the TARDIS," she said, her voice reverberating strangely, her harsh London accent gone.  "And the TARDIS looked into me."

"You looked into the Time Vortex," he realized, and the fear inside him grew.  "Rose, no one's meant to see that."

" **THIS IS THE ABOMINATION**!" cried the Emperor.

" **EXTERMINATE**!"

The Doctor watched, first in fear and then in amazement, as the Dalek shot its ray at Rose, only to have her stop it with a hand, reversing the beam back into the gun.

"I am the Bad Wolf," she said. "I create myself. I take the words...I scatter them in Time and Space." She raised her hand, and the words lifted and spun and danced before disappearing.  "A message to lead myself here."

"Rose, you've got to stop this," he said urgently.  "You've got to stop this now.  You've got the entire vortex running through your head.  You're gonna burn!"

"I want you safe, My Doctor.  Protected from the false God," she said, abruptly looking down at him.  He looked back, stunned.   She had done god knows what to be able to pull apart the TARDIS, she risked everything she was to look inside and come back for him.  He didn't think he'd ever understand what she saw in him that she felt merited such extreme devotion.

" **YOU CANNOT HURT ME,** " the Emperor stated.  " **I AM IMMORTAL.** "

"You are tiny," Rose said angrily, turning back to the screen.  "I can see the whole of time and space—every single atom of your existence, and I divide them."  She raised a hand, and a Dalek flew apart into golden particles of dust.  "Everything must come to dust...all things.  Everything dies.  The Time War ends," she vowed, raising both arms, as the Daleks surrounding them disintegrated.

" **I WILL NOT DIE,** " the Emperor shouted.  " **I CANNOT DIE!** "

The Doctor watched as the figure on the screen dissolved into golden light, and turned back to Rose.  She stood shaking in front of him, staring straight ahead, the golden light still making her glow from within.

"Rose, you've done it," the Doctor said in a low but insistent voice.  "Now stop. Just let go."

"How can I let go of this?" she asked in a hushed voice.  "I bring life."

The Doctor felt it grating against his senses when she brought Jack back to life.  One day, he would have to deal with that.  He was sure of it.  But that wasn’t important right now.

"But this is wrong!" he told her urgently.  "You can't control life and death!"

"But I can," she said, looking at him again.  "The sun and the moon... the day and night.  But why do they hurt?" she asked finally in a trembling voice.

"The power's gonna kill you and it's my fault," he said hopelessly.

"I can see everything," she said softly.   "All that is...all that was...all that ever could be."

He jumped up, standing before her, and looking down into her golden eyes.  He could save her.  He _would_ save her.  Because he loved her, and had for a long time.  He could never, ever tell her that.  He couldn't bear losing her if she knew.  But he loved her, for everything that she was and everything that she did that made him feel whole again.  Any sacrifice he made now for her was worthwhile.

"That's what I see," he told her gently.  "All the time. And doesn't it drive you mad?"

"My head..."

"Come here."

"...it's killing me..."

"I think you need a Doctor," he said softly, pulling her close and pressing his lips to hers.  She tasted of cherries and Time, and something indefinably her and strangely familiar.  He drank her in as he absorbed the Time Vortex from her mind.  He could have done this a hundred ways, but it would always end up the same way for him.  If this had to be his sacrifice, he'd have one perfect moment with her first.

He heard the song, and slowly pulled away from Rose, seeing the last of the golden energy leave her eyes just before they fluttered closed.  She sagged against him, and he lowered her gently to the ground before standing up and breathing the energy back into the TARDIS.  He stumbled as it left him, and he smiled a little bitterly.  He wouldn't have long.

He knelt down next to his beautiful girl, the one who risked so much to save him.  He checked her pulse, then brushed her hair out of her face, caressing her cheek.  He sighed and picked her up, carrying her into the TARDIS.  He had to get them out of here before he lost control completely.

oOoOo

_Wake up, my Wolf!_

Rose's eyes snapped open.  It wasn't words.  It was...odd.

_Later.  Go to him._

She looked up.  The Doctor was leaning heavily on the console as he worked the controls.  He glanced at her as she stood up.  “Doctor…”

“Sleeping Beauty awakens,” he said with a grin.  The grin faltered after just a moment as he asked, “What do you remember?”

“Everything,” she said, her eyes burning.  “You saved me.”

"Rose Tyler," he said with a small laugh, like he was in disbelief at her very existence.  Which, she realized, was probably the truth.  "I was gonna take you to so many places. Barcelona—not the city Barcelona, the planet. You'd love it. Fantastic place—they’ve got dogs with no noses." He laughed at, and Rose rolled her eyes, standing up.  "Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it's still funny!"

"Doctor...that trick you told me about..." Rose trailed off, watching him.  He looked up at her and nodded. 

"I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex, and no one's meant to do that," he explained, his tone light despite his obvious pain.

“What’s going to happen to you?” she asked cautiously.  “The you you are now, I mean.”

He hesitated.  “I’m going to die,” he said quietly.  “A new man is going to saunter away with you…but I’ll be dead.”

"Oh, Doctor," she choked out through tears, running to him.  She threw her arms around his neck before he could stop her, and after a split second, she felt his arms go around her, holding her tight one last time.  “I’ll never forget you,” she whispered urgently in his ear.  After a moment, he pulled away.  His hand brushed her cheek, and she leaned into it as he kissed her forehead before pushing her away to a safer distance.

"it's a bit dodgy, this process," he said softly once he was sure she was at a safe distance.  "You never know what you're gonna end up with—“  He was cut off as a blast of golden light exploded from him, and he stumbled backwards, doubled over.

"Doctor!"

"Stay away!" he cried urgently.    Rose watched him in concern.  Even knowing what was happening didn't make it easier for her to watch, especially now that she knew that it was completely her fault.  He gave her a long look, filled with so many things he didn’t think he should say, things Rose already knew and broke her heart.   “Before I go...Rose...I just wanna tell you, you were fantastic," he told her with a proud smile.  "Absolutely fantastic.  And d'you know what?" She shook her head, tears escaping from her eyes.   "So was I."  He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Always," she said softly, nodding.  "My Doctor."

His smile grew, and then he exploded with a golden light.  Rose watched as her beloved Doctor changed from the man she had known, all leather and rage, who had become so much more this time around, to the man she had loved so fiercely and lost across the Void.  She choked on a sob as she stumbled back.

And then he was standing there in front of her, with a slightly concussed look on his face.  "Hello," he said, glancing up at her briefly.  "Okay—oh,” he stopped.  "New teeth, that's weird," he said after a moment.  "So where was I?  Oh that's right," he said looking up at her again.  "Barcelona."


	30. Cancel Barcelona

"6 PM...Tuesday..." the Doctor muttered as he set the coordinates on the TARDIS.  "October... 5006... on the way to Barcelona!"  He straightened and spun around to Rose with a grin.  "Now then...what do I look like?  No, no no, no no no no no no no. No. Don't tell me."  He looked down at himself, examining his brand new body.  Oh, he loved this part...finding out all the new little quirks and defining characteristics of his new self.  "Let's see... two legs, two arms, two hands...Slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle," he added, turning his wrist.  No matter.  Hair? His hands flew to his head.  "HAIR! I'm not bald!  Oh...oh!  Big hair!  Sideburns!  I've got sideburns!  Or really bad skin..."  He looked down again and slapped a new hand against his new stomach.  "Little bit thinner...that's weird.  Give me time, I'll get used to it."  He snaked his arm up his back...oooh..."I...have got...a mole.  I can feel it.  Between my shoulder blades, there's a mole.  That's alright!  Love the mole!  Go on then, tell me," he said finally, standing straight in front of her again, grinning widely.  "What do you think?"

The Doctor suddenly became aware of the fact that Rose had been completely silent, and was now staring at him in a...very strange way.  He had told her about regeneration, hadn't he?  Yeah, he had, back when she was still settling in.  But she looked...odd.  Like she couldn't tell whether to laugh or to cry.  He didn't want her to cry.  He didn't ever want Rose to cry.  "Rose?"

"Doctor?" she asked in a weak voice.

Oh. _Oh_.  She wasn't sure.  But she'd seen it.  Right in front of her.  "It's me," he assured her quickly.  "I just changed.  I promise, here look, I can prove it.  Very first word I ever said to you. Trapped in that cellar. Surrounded by shop window dummies.... oh...such a long time ago. I took your hand," and he reached down and grasped hers, loving the feel of it in his, loving the way it fit in this brand new hand of his, "I said one word... just one word, I said... 'run'."

And then suddenly his arms were filled with Rose as she launched herself at him.  "Hello," he said in gleeful surprise as he wrapped his arms around her.  Oh, she fit nicely here too.  And this body was so much more tactile than his other one.  He vowed to make this hugging thing a much bigger part of their lives.

"Hello," she said softly against his neck, and he felt her breath ghost across his skin.  Oh, _much_ more tactile.  He could see that being a problem.  He pulled away hurriedly, running back to the console.

"And we never stopped, did we? All across the universe. Running, running, running..." he said as he flicked a few of the controls, steadying their course and checking his status.  Then he turned to her again. "One time we had to hop. Do you remember? Hopping for our lives." He hopped around, demonstrating gleefully.

Rose laughed.  It felt like the first time he'd ever heard it.  It filled him with warmth, and made him stop and watch her in awe.  His brave little Rose, who had done so much for him already, so much that she didn't even know.

"You're staring, Doctor," Rose said gently.

"I am?  I am.  Sorry," he said quickly.  "New...eyes.  Slightly different vision.  Could be better.  Might need to dig out a pair of specs.  Depth perception is a bit off, colors could be brighter.  Think I might be a little farsighted.  You’re still—“ _gorgeous_ , he added silently, biting the sentence off just in time.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said quickly, starting to feel a bit manic.  Was he manic now?  No.  Maybe.  But something else.  What was it?

"Doctor?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I go home?"

All his thoughts stopped dead.  He stared at her, feeling suddenly claustrophobic, like his ribs were closing in on his lungs.  She wanted to leave him.  But…but she couldn’t.  Not _now_.  He...she couldn’t.  "Home?" he squeaked.

"Um...yeah...only, last time I was there, things were a bit...hectic," she said slowly.  "And then, when I left—“

"Oh!  Oh right!" he exclaimed, taking a deep breath.  "Bit of a crisis, wasn't it?  And we're going to talk about that at some point, believe me.  But yes!  Home!" He jumped at the console again.  Visit.  She just wanted to visit.  To show them she had lived, hooray!  Daleks dusted—he giggled—universe saved once again.  He could do a visit.  "Cancel Barcelona. Change to...London...the Powell Estate...ah...let's say the 24th of December.  Consider it a Christmas present," he added with a grin at her.

"Thank you, Doctor," she said, smiling widely at him.

"Of course," he said happily.  "Back to your mum…it's all waiting. Fish and chips, sausage and mash, beans on toast—no, Christmas! Turkey! Although…having met your mother…nut loaf would be more appropriate."

Rose burst out laughing.  He grinned at her.  He opened his mouth to say something else, but all that came out was a retching sound as he felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

"Doctor?" Rose called to him, concerned.

"It's nothing, it's—“ and again came the retching and a groan.  He felt pain shoot through his body.  "Uh oh."

"Are you alright?" she asked.

He watched a piece of golden energy issue from his mouth.  "The change is going a bit—“ and again he was cut off, the pain so great he doubled over.

"Doctor, what can I do?"

His thoughts began unraveling.  Desperately, he tried to hold on.  "Nothing, there's nothing you can do, I just—I haven't used this one in years," he said excitedly, flipping the lever in front of him, nearly knocking them both off their feet.  All his thoughts trailed off into a compulsive need for more speed.

"What're you doing?" he heard her shout.

"Putting on a bit of speed! That's it!" He jumped up and started pulling at the knobs, egging his ship on a little faster.  "My beautiful ship! Come on, faster! Thatta girl! Faster! Wanna to break the time limit?" he asked Rose in a crazed voice.

"Stop it!" she shouted, sounding angry and a little bit scared.

"Ah, don't be so dull—let’s have a bit of fun! Let's rip through that vortex!"  No, he had to gain control, he couldn't do this to her.  He struggled to maintain some grip on his thoughts, to warn her— "The regeneration's going wrong. I can't stop myself," he finally got out in a quieter, more normal tone.  His head felt like it was going to split in two as he struggled with himself.  "Ah, my head...Faster!" he shouted, springing back up to a standing position.  They couldn't go fast enough!  No speed was fast enough!  "Let's open those engines!"

"What's that?" Rose asked as an alarm blared, sounding more scared than before.

"We're gonna crash land!" he shouted excitedly, laughing manically.  This was wrong, this was wrong, he couldn't stop it, but this was wrong, don't scare the girl, don't hurt the girl, _FASTER!_

"Well then, do something!" she shouted.

"Too late! Out of control!" he shouted as he ran around the console giggling.  Stop it, stop it, get control, don't CRASHING! BRILLIANT!  "Oh, I love it! Hot dawg!" he shouted, hopping up in his excitement.

"You're gonna kill us!"

No no no no don't kill us just got this body don't kill Rose have to keep her safe brilliant Rose—

"Hold on tight, here we go!" he shouted, looking across the console at her, she didn't look excited, but he was excited enough for the both of them.  "Christmas Eve!"


	31. The Christmas Invasion, part 1

Rose was knocked off her feet in the first impact, and slid across the floor with the second, hitting the step hard with her back.  She groaned, and they crashed down again, this time staying stationary.  Rose saw the Doctor dash out of the doors before she’d even stopped the spinning feeling in her head.  With another groan, she gingerly picked herself up.  You’d think after last time she’d be a little more prepared for his manic episode.  But if he was manic, then that meant—she sprinted to the doors, opening them only to find the Doctor already on the ground.  
  
"What happened?" she asked.  "Is he all right?"  
  
"I dunno, he just keeled over!" Mickey said defensively.  "But who is he? Where’s the Doctor?"  
  
"That’s him," she told him.  "Right in front of you. That’s the Doctor."  
  
"What d’you mean, ‘that’s the Doctor’? Doctor who?" asked her mum.  
  
“The Doctor,” Rose said, kneeling beside him, feeling his neck for the strange double pulse.  “He…changed.  Something happened, and he had to change.  But it’s gone wrong, and he’s sick.”  
  
"Well, should we take him to a hospital?" Jackie asked.  
  
"No," Rose said quickly.  "No, they wouldn’t…no.  Just help me get him inside.  Mickey, grab his feet."  
  
Between them, they were able to manhandle the Doctor up to the flat, dumping him ungracefully onto Rose’s old bed in exhaustion.  Jackie ran to get him something more comfortable to wear while Mickey helped Rose undress him carefully, leaving his pants firmly in place.  Rose tried to keep her attention away from his slim, toned body as she slipped the pajamas on him, without much success.  
  
"I need to check his heartbeat," she said finally when they got him situated more comfortably.  
  
"Oh, hold on a tick," Jackie said, popping up and running out the door.  
  
"I gotta go finish up at the shop," Mickey said quietly, edging for the door.  "They’re not gonna be happy with the way I took off.  I’ll come by later, yeah?"  Rose nodded absently.  
  
Jackie came back as Mickey left.  “Here we go,” she said as she handed Rose a stethoscope. “Tina the Cleaner’s got this lodger, medical student. And she was fast asleep, so I just took it.  Though, I still say we should take him to hospital.”  
  
"We can’t," Rose said.  "They’d lock him up. They’d dissect him. One bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race. No!" she said again as her mother opened her mouth to say more and shushed her.  She put the stethoscope in her ears and checked his left heart, then his right.  Both were beating steadily.  Not too bad off yet, then.  "Both working," she informed Jackie.  
  
"What d’you mean ‘both’?"  
  
"Well, he’s got two hearts."  
  
"Oh, don’t be stupid," Jackie said contemptuously.  
  
"He has!"  
  
"Anything else he’s got two of?" she asked, eyeing him speculatively.  
  
"Leave him alone," Rose ordered before walking out of the room.  There was something that had helped him.  Something that made it all better.  What the hell had it been?  Something about free radicals…she had a feeling that didn’t mean he needed a chat with a hippy.  
  
"How can he go changing his face?" Jackie asked as Rose mooched around the fridge.  "Is that a different face or is he a different person?"  
  
"It’s…complicated," Rose said as she turned back to her mother.  "Sort of both?  He’s still the Doctor, he’s got all his memories and basic…I dunno, principles and things, but everything else is new."  
  
"How’d he manage that, then?" Jackie asked curiously.  
  
Rose sighed.  “Something…happened.  After I left.  He saved me, but he was dying.  So he changed.  Sort of a trick his species has of cheating death.”  She smiled a little bitterly when she heard his words coming back through her lips.  It wasn’t really cheating death…he’d said himself that the man he was was going to die…it was just the memories that lived on.  She felt a pang of grief for the loss of her first Doctor.  She looked back up at Jackie, though, and made the executive decision that that was enough strangeness for her mum at the moment.  “The big question is,” she said, taking her mother’s hands. “Where’d you get a pair of men’s pyjamas from?”  
  
"Howard’s been staying over," Jackie said lightly.  
  
"What, Howard from the market?" Rose asked, playing into it.  "How long’s that been going on?"  
  
"A month or so," Jackie said with a shrug.  "First of all, he starts delivering to the door and I thought, ‘that’s a bit odd’. Next thing you know, it’s a bag of oranges—“  
  
"Is that Harriet Jones?" Rose asked excitedly as she caught sight of the TV, and moved into the living room.  "Is she prime minister now?"  
  
"Yeah, I’m eighteen quid a week better off," Jackie told her, and Rose smiled.  Harriet Jones, no longer a back bencher.  "They’re calling it ‘Britain’s Golden Age’. Keep on saying my Rose has met her."  
  
"Did more than that. Stopped World War Three with her. Harriet Jones…" Her smile faltered a little as she remembered what Harriet Jones had done, or would do, very soon.  Maybe…but then, she hadn’t had much luck changing human arrogance.  Wouldn’t stop her from trying.  
  
She listened as the news report went on about Guinevere One.  That blasted project with its insane capsule.  That team was in for a big surprise.  Once again, she toyed with the notion of just calling them and explaining what was going to happen…but they’d assume it was a prank or she was insane.  Worse, she’d have to face the Doctor again.  
  
She glanced at the bedroom when she thought of him.  Reliving your life would be much simpler with a perfect memory, she decided.  
  
Once the newscast hit a lull, she went to sit with the Doctor.  She brushed the hair out of his face gently…that great hair.  She ran her knuckles along his cheek.  God, she had missed this face.  She already missed the old Doctor, even more so after the changes to their relationship, but this one…the last time she’d seen this face, it was filled with pain, tears streaming down his cheeks while she could barely breathe for sobbing.  She’d told him she loved him, and he had said her name.  She laid down next to him, putting her head on his shoulder and holding his hand, and despite the many thoughts running through her head, gave in to exhaustion and fell asleep.  
  
She woke up with a start hours later when the door banged open.  She heard Mickey yelling at her mum to get off the phone.  She jumped to her feet and rushed from the room.  
  
"What’s going on?  What happened?"  
  
"I got attacked in the street, that’s what happened!" Mickey yelled at her.  "Only thing I can think is that it’s something to do with the Doctor.  Can’t even go Christmas shopping when you two are here without something shooting at me or blowing up!"  
  
"What? But—“ She’d been there when he’d been attacked before.  But she hadn’t fallen asleep last time.  She looked into the corner of the living room.  "Mum, where did the tree come from?"  
  
"I dunno, I thought it was you," Jackie said defensively, confused by the reaction.  
  
"How could it have been me?"  
  
"Thought maybe you left some money out for Mickey when you fell asleep," Jackie said.  
  
"No, it wasn’t me," she said watching the tree warily.  "Mum, c’mere.  Don’t get too close."  
  
"What d’you mean, what’s a tree gonna—“  
  
Before she finished speaking, the light’s blinked on and the tree started spinning madly.  Jackie ran for the door, while Mickey stayed in the living room trying to stop it with a chair.  Rose ran to the Doctor.  
  
"What’re you doing?" Jackie shouted.  
  
"We can’t just leave him," Rose called back, already searching his pockets for the sonic while Jackie yelled to Mickey to leave the living room.  They piled into the room while Rose tried to make sense of the sonic.  She didn’t want to wake him up again if she didn’t have to.  Problem was, the thing had a million settings, and only the Doctor knew them all.  The only ones she had used with any consistency spliced wires or made toast.  She didn’t know how to turn off the clock radio, much less blow up a rogue Christmas tree.  
  
"I’m going to get killed by a Christmas tree," Jackie screamed.  
  
That did it.  She put the sonic in his hand, leaning over to whisper, “Help me.”  
  
He sat bolt upright in bed, flicking the sonic and switching it on deftly, promptly blowing the tree and surrounding wall to bits.  
  
"Remote control. But who’s controlling it?" he said softly before hopping up out of bed.  He slipped on a pair of slippers and pulled on a dressing gown as he walked outside.  He looked out over the balcony and the three Santas standing there, the one on point holding a remote control.  
  
"That’s them," Mickey said quickly.  "What are they?"  
  
Rose shushed him as the Doctor raised the sonic threateningly at the group.  They hesitated a moment, then backed away slowly before teleporting away completely.  
  
"They’ve just gone!" cried Mickey happily.  "What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence, but they’re not much cop if a sonic screwdriver’s gonna scare them off."  
  
"Pilot Fish," the Doctor said.  
  
"What?" asked Mickey.  
  
"They were just Pilot Fish," he repeated.  He opened his mouth to say more, but then coughed deeply and threw himself back against the wall behind him.  
  
"What’s wrong?" Rose asked, hating that she had to ask, hating more that it was her fault.  
  
"You woke me up too soon," he told her, breathing heavily.  "I’m still regenerating. I’m bursting with energy." Golden energy again wafted from his mouth.  "You see? The Pilot Fish could smell it. A million miles away. So they eliminate the defense –that’s you lot—and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of year—" His speech cut off again as he lurched forward with a groan.  
  
"My head!" he cried through gritted teeth.  Jackie knelt down before him and helped him stay upright.  "I’m having a neuron implosion.  I need—“  
  
"What do you need?" Jackie asked frantically.  
  
"I need—“  
  
"Say it, tell me, tell me—“  
  
"I need—“  
  
"Painkillers?"  
  
"I need—“  
  
"Do you need aspirin?"  
  
"I—“  
  
"Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I dunno—Pepto-Bismol?"  
  
"I need—“  
  
"Liquid paraffin. Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E?"  
  
"I need—“  
  
"Is it food? Something simple? Uh—a bowl of soup? A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"  
  
"I need you to shut up!" he yelled finally.  
  
"Oh, he hasn’t changed that much, has he?" Jackie asked, disgruntled, as the Doctor again lurched forward, back near Rose.  
  
"We haven’t got much time," he said urgently.  "If there’s Pilot Fish, then—Why’s there an apple in my dressing gown?"  
  
"Oh, that’s Howard, sorry," Jackie said.  
  
"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"  
  
"He gets hungry."  
  
"What, he gets hungry in his sleep?" he asked in disbelief.  
  
"Sometimes."  
  
The Doctor let out another shout of pain and sank to the floor.  
  
"Brain—collapsing—“ he choked out.  He grabbed Rose by the arms, looking at her intently as he tried to speak.  "The P-Pilot Fish. The Pilot Fish mean…that something—“  
  
"Something’s coming," she suggested quietly, unable to watch him in pain anymore.  He nodded once, then collapsed again onto her.  
  
Once again, they managed to get him inside and back into bed.  He looked worse now, sweating and shaking.  Rose got a bowl of cool water and a flannel and dabbed his head with it.  Guilt was pouring over her in waves.  He had regenerated because of her, and now he was even sicker because of her.  Last time, she had been so full of her own grief and anger over the loss of his other self that it never even occurred to her that this was completely her fault.  She worried her lip as she listened to his hearts again.  Only one was beating now.  
  
"I’m sorry, Doctor," she whispered.  "I’m so sorry."  
  
After another few minutes, she finally got up and went into the living room again.  
  
"Any change?" Jackie asked, holding out a cup of tea.  
  
"He’s worse," Rose told her, frowning at her cup.  "Only one heart beating now."  
  
"So what did you mean by something’s coming?" Jackie asked.  "Starting to sound like the Doctor, how you just automatically know."  
  
Rose sighed.  “Pilot fish, they’re like tiny scavengers,” she said, no longer caring about what she was and wasn’t supposed to know.  “They swim alongside bigger fish, like sharks.  So if we had them—“  
  
"Then we’re getting this," Mickey said, showing them a video graphic of a shark attacking.  Rose nodded.  "Says here the pilot fish never swim too far from daddy."  
  
"It’s close," Rose confirmed.  
  
"Funny sort of rocks," Jackie said, staring at the screen.  Rose turned to peer at it.  
  
"That’s not rocks," she said quietly.  The other two leaned closer for a better look as the picture came into focus, then jumped back when the alien growled.  "Mickey, see if you can hack into UNIT surveillance."  
  
"You know, you do sort of sound like him," Mickey said, giving her a sharp look.  
  
"Just do it," she sighed as she went back to the sofa.  Her head ached, and even with the nap earlier, she still felt exhausted, completely mentally and physically drained.  She flipped through channels as stations all over reported the alien sighting.  
  
"Rose," Mickey called to her after a few minutes.  She jumped up and rushed over to him, leaning over his shoulder.  "Take a look, I’ve got access to the military. They’re tracking a spaceship. It’s big, it’s fast, and it’s coming this way."  
  
As they watched, the screen changed to an image of four of the aliens—Sycorax, that was it—came onto the screen.  They began to speak, but Rose wasn’t surprised when she couldn’t understand it.  She wasn’t feeling the presence as strong in her head, either.  Without the Doctor, all of it fell to pieces.  
  
"Have you seen them before?" Mickey asked her.  
  
"No," she lied, shaking her head.  Not since the last time she was here, anyway.  With a groan, she straightened back up and returned to the Doctor.  She shook her mother awake, shooing her off to bed before laying down next to the Doctor again, taking up the same position she had earlier when she’d fallen asleep.  
  
"Rose…you might want to…you know…prepare yourself," Mickey said quietly from the doorway.  
  
"For what?" she asked without turning around.  
  
"In case he doesn’t wake up," he replied.  "He looks half dead already."  
  
"He’s gonna wake up," she said firmly.  
  
"Think the old Doctor would’ve done this?  The proper Doctor, I mean. Would he have slept through a crisis?"  
  
Rose bolted upright, realizing that his words echoed nearly exactly what she’d said when she went through this the first time.  “Don’t do that.  He’s the Doctor, the proper Doctor, no less so than he was the last time you saw him, except now he’s changed, and sick, and it’s all my fault, but I’m all he’s got.  But he would never give up on me, and I’m not gonna give up on him now.”  
  
Mickey stared at her for a moment, stunned.  Then he nodded and went back to the living room.  Rose sank back down to bed and curled into the Doctor before crying herself to sleep.

  
oOoOo

  
  
The next morning, following a long shower and a change of clothes, Rose felt more hopeful.  Somehow, she’d figure out what it was the Doctor needed, and she’d get Harriet Jones to stop Torchwood.  Everything would be fine.  
  
Then the yelling started.  
  
She ducked out of the flat with Mickey as a man walked by in a daze, his wife trailing behind him, imploring him to go back inside.  They followed the couple up to the roof, where they were joined by dozens of others, as people stepped to the edge and stopped.  The other roofs that Rose could see were all lined in a similar fashion, people stopping right at the edge.  
  
"What do we do?" Mickey asked.  
  
"Nothing," she told him honestly.  "They’ll be fine.  It’s a scare tactic."  She moved back to the stairway.  
  
"But they’re gonna jump!" cried Mickey.  
  
"They’re not," Rose told him.  "Trust me.  You can’t hypnotize someone to death."  
  
"What does that even MEAN?" she heard him say as she walked back down the stairs.  
  
She paced in the living room, wracking her brain for anything that could help the Doctor right now.  The only thing she could flatly rule out was aspirin.  She couldn’t even ask the TARDIS.  She sighed as Harriet Jones came on the television again in place of the Queen’s speech, imploring anyone who knew the Doctor to get in contact with him.  She walked back into the bedroom and knelt down next to the bed.  
  
"Come back to me," she said softly.  "I can’t do this without you."  
  
Suddenly, the whole building shook as a sonic wave enveloped the area.  All the windows in the flat shattered, and she heard screaming coming from all directions.  She hurried outside with Mickey, looking up at the giant ship.  
  
"C’mon," she said, grabbing Mickey’s hand.  She wasn’t giving up on the Doctor this time…but she wasn’t staying here, either.  "Mickey, we’re gonna carry him," she told him as she rushed into the bedroom and threw the blankets off of him.  "Mum, get your stuff, and get some food. We’re going."  
  
"Well, where to?"  
  
"The TARDIS," she said.  "It’s the only safe place on Earth."  
  
"What’re we gonna do in there?"  
  
"Hide."  
  
"Is that it?"  
  
"Mum, look in the sky. There’s a great, big, alien invasion and I don’t know what to do, alright? I’ve travelled with him, and I’ve seen all that stuff but when I’m stuck at home, I’m useless. Now, all we can do is run and hide, and I’m sorry. Now, move."  
  
Jackie scuttled off and Rose and Mickey lifted him the way they had brought him into the flat in the first place.  Jackie caught up with them as they reached the stairs, and the three of them made their way to the TARDIS as quickly as they could.  
  
"No chance you could fly this thing?" Mickey asked as they entered the TARDIS.  
  
"Not anymore, no," she said.  
  
"Well, you did it before…”  
  
"I know, but it’s sort of been… wiped out of my head, like it’s forbidden."  She didn’t think this was entirely the case, but it worked for the circumstances.  "Try that again and I think the universe rips in half," she added as they placed the Doctor gently on the floor.  
  
"Ah, better not, then," he said.  
  
"Maybe not."  
  
"So, what do we do? Just sit here?"  
  
"For now," she said, and tuned the other two out while she tried to think of something that would help the Doctor.  
  
"Tea," she heard Mickey say after her mum left to get more food.  "Like we’re having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British."  Rose froze and stared at him.  "How does this thing work?" he asked, not noticing her look.  "It picks up TV, maybe we could see what’s going on out there. Maybe we’ve surrendered.  What do you do to it?"  
  
"Sort of tunes itself," she said absently, flipping it on for him.  "Go back though, what’d you say?"  
  
"Having a picnic at the end of the world?"  
  
"No…TEA!"  The thermos had dropped and the tea had become vapor and he’d breathed that in.  "Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin!  Mickey, you’re a genius!"  
  
"What’d I do?"  
  
She ignored him as she grabbed the thermos and poured a cup.  She knelt next to the Doctor and carefully lifted him to a seated position, resting his head on her shoulder before bringing the cup to his lips.  “C’mon, Doctor…drink up…”  He spluttered, but she managed to get a few swallows down him.  He shuddered, and another puff of energy escaped his lips.  Rose felt momentarily defeated until she noticed that his color was already better.  She placed his head carefully on the ground.  She wasn’t entirely sure how long it was before he’d been conscious enough to get up and leave the TARDIS last time.  She had to hope it wasn’t long.  
  
“Where the hell did your mum go?” Mickey asked.  Before she even registered what he said, he was out the door, then yelling as someone grabbed him.  She cursed when she realized what happened, running out after him and slamming the door behind her before the Sycorax could reach it.  
  
"Rose," Harriet called, and Rose ran to her.  "Rose! I’ve got you," she said as she embraced the younger girl.  "My Lord. My precious thing. The Doctor…is he with you?"  
  
"Not right now," she said quietly.  
  
The Sycorax leader pointed angrily at Rose and spat out something in his guttural tongue.  
  
"The yellow girl. She has the clever blue box. Therefore, she speaks for your planet," Indra Garnesh translated.  Rose stared at him for a moment with a bemused little smile.  
  
"But she can’t," Harriet yelled.  
  
"Yeah, I can," she said quietly, coming back to the moment.  
  
"Don’t you dare," Mickey said.  
  
"Someone’s got to," she replied.  
  
"They’ll kill you," Harriet cried as she grabbed Rose’s arm.  
  
"Never stopped the Doctor," she retorted, cutting her off.  She stepped in front of the leader nervously.  This hadn’t worked before, but it had bought time.  Time was all she needed.  This wasn’t the first time she’d handled a crisis situation after all…it didn’t quite feel like it did with Torchwood, though.  That bit of nineteen year old her that lingered kept her from being as confident as she would be as she cleared her throat.  "I, um… I address the leader of the Sycorax on behalf of the world below, in…in accordance with the articles of the Shadow Proclamation.  This planet isn’t defenseless, and isn’t yours to scavenge.  So, on…on behalf of the citizens of Earth, I demand you leave this world in peace!”  
  
There were a few seconds of stunned silence, then the Sycorax all burst into laughter.  
  
"You are very, very funny,” Indra said, translating the speech.  
  
"And now you’re going to die," the leader said in English.  They all stared at him.  
  
"That’s English," Indra said before the leader could speak again.  
  
"He’s talking English," Harriet said.  
  
"You’re talking English," Rose told the leader with a smile.  
  
"I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile!" he spat.  
  
"That’s English," she said, backing away and pointing at him.  "Can you hear English?" she asked over her shoulder, grin widening by the minute.  
  
"Yeah, that’s English," Mickey said.  
  
"Definitely English," Indra confirmed.  
  
"I speak only Sycoraxic!" the leader cried angrily.  
  
"Oh, I’m sure you do," Rose said gleefully.  "I’m absolutely sure.  Thing is, if we can hear English, than that means that it’s being translated.  Which means it’s working.  Which means…you’re in trouble," she said as she turned around.  
  
The doors to the TARDIS opened, and the Doctor stood there smiling in all his stripy pyjama glory.  
  
"Did you miss me?" he asked cheekily.


	32. The Christmas Invasion, part 2

The Sycorax leader immediately attacked the Doctor with his whip, which the latter grabbed hold of and pulled out of the leader’s hands.

"You could have someone’s eye out with that!" he scolded.  The leader roared again and made to hit the Doctor with his staff, only to have that pulled away as well by the Doctor, who then snapped it over his leg.  "You just can’t get the staff," he chided.  "Now, you, just wait.  I’m busy."  He pointed at the leader’s incredulous face warningly before turning around.  "Indra Garnesh! Hello!  And Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North! Blimey, it’s like ‘This Is Your Life’!"  He turned to Rose and beamed at her.  "Tea, you brilliant girl.  Just the thing for healing the synapses.  Now…first thing’s first," he said, his tone turning serious.  "Be honest. How do I look?"

"Fantastic," she told him with a grin.

"Really?" he squeaked, preening.  Then he turned deadly serious again as he asked, "Am I…ginger?"

"No, you’re just sort of brown," she told him.

"Aw, I wanted to be ginger," he said, pouting.  "I’ve never been ginger.  Oh, and you Mickey Smith," he said suddenly, pointing at the boy.  "Fat lot of good you were!  You gave up on me—oh, that’s rude. That’s the sort of man I am now, am I? Rude.  Rude and not ginger.  But you, Rose Tyler," he said, grabbing her hand and jerking her arm so she spun into him, arms crossed in front her with her back against his chest.  He looked down at her and smiled.  "Never have given up on me, have you?"

"Never ever," she replied happily.

"I’m sorry…who is this?" Harriet asked finally.

"I’m the Doctor," he said, releasing Rose.

"He’s the Doctor," she confirmed as she stepped reluctantly away.  That had gone considerably better for her than last time.

"But what happened to my Doctor?" Harriet asked.  "Or is it a title that’s just passed on?"

"I’m him," he said as he walked toward her.  "I’m literally him. Same man, new face—well, new everything."

"But you can’t be," Harriet said, frowning.

"Harriet Jones. We were trapped in Downing Street, and the one thing that scared you wasn’t the aliens…wasn’t the war…it was the thought of your mother being on her own."

"Oh, my God," she breathed.

"Did you win the election?" he asked, stooping slightly to look into her face as he smiled at her.

"Landslide majority," she said with a pleased smile.

"If I might interrupt!" the Sycorax leader put in angrily.  They all spun around, having all but forgotten he was there.

"Yes! Sorry!" the Doctor cried, walking over to him again.  "Hello, big fella!"

"Who exactly are you?"

"Well, that’s the question," the Doctor admitted.

"I demand to know who you are!"

"I DON’T KNOW!" the Doctor shouted in a mimic of the leader’s voice.  Then he relaxed again, going into his speech about the many points of himself that were still untested.  He still gave Rose a cheeky wink when asked if he was sexy, and she grinned broadly.  Then he noticed the button, and Rose rolled her eyes as he pulled the first of many orally fixated stunts.  Everyone gasped when he pushed the button.  Mickey started to say something about the hypnotizing people to death, but she elbowed him in the stomach before he could get much out.  She laughed as the cheerful, chatty, slightly manic Doctor extolled the virtues and potential of the human race by quoting The Lion King.

 ”But the point still stands,” he said finally.  “Leave them alone!”

"Or what?" the leader demanded.

"Or…" He grabbed a sword from one of the guards and ran down the stairs to the empty floor space.  "I challenge you."  He looked around, eyebrow arched, as the other Sycorax burst out laughing.  "Oh, that struck a chord. Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?"

"You stand as this world’s champion?" the leader asked, coming forward and unsheathing his sword.

"Thank you," he said, shrugging out of his dressing gown.  "I’ve no idea who I am, but you just summed me up." He tossed the dressing gown to Rose before asking, "So, you accept my challenge? Or are you just a cranak pel casacree salvak?"

The leader hissed, and both challengers knelt by their swords.

"For the planet?" the leader asked.

"For the planet," the Doctor agreed in a dark voice.

They started to fight, and Rose winced as the Doctor was tossed aside after just a few seconds.  He stood up again and looked at Rose.  She tried to give him an encouraging look as he turned back to the leader and they crossed swords again.

"Look out!" she shouted as he was knocked to the floor and the leader brought the sword down after him.

"Oh, yeah, that helped," as he dodged and jumped back up.  "Wouldn’t have thought of that otherwise, thanks."

"Rude," she muttered.  Mickey stared at her.

"Bit of fresh air?" the Doctor shouted as he darted upstairs and pounded a button that opened a doorway.  The fight moved outside and they all followed.  It wasn’t long after that that the Doctor was knocked down at the edge of the ship and had his hand cut off.

"You cut my hand off," the Doctor said in disbelief.

"YAH! Sycorax!" the leader shouted triumphantly.

"And now I know what sort of man I am," the Doctor continued, getting to his feet again.  "I’m lucky. ‘Cause quite by chance… I’m still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle. Which means I’ve got just enough residual cellular energy…to do this."  He held up his arm, and they all watched as his hand grew back.

"Witchcraft," the leader accused.

"Time Lord," the Doctor clarified.

Rose spun and took one of the Sycorax’s swords from their sheath.  “Doctor,” she called, tossing it to him.

He caught it deftly and spun it around.  “That’s my girl!” he shouted, turning around the face the leader again.  “Wanna know the best bit? This new hand…It’s a fightin’ hand!” he finished in an exaggerated southern drawl.

The Doctor ran at the leader, and the fight started again.  They clashed swords a few times before the Doctor jabbed the leader hard in the stomach with the handle of his sword.  He did it twice more, and the leader sprawled onto the ground.  The Doctor put his sword to the leader’s throat.

"I win," he said darkly.

"Then kill me," the leader choked out.

"I’ll spare your life if you’ll take this champion’s command," the Doctor told him.  "Leave this planet, and never return. What do you say?"

"Yes."

"Swear on the blood of your species," he said angrily, jabbing the sword closer.

"I…swear."

"There we are, then!" he said lightly, the shift in mood instantaneous.  "Thanks for that! Cheers, big fella!" He jabbed the sword into the ground and turned away.

"Bravo!" cried Harriet Jones in the background.

"Molto Bene," Rose said as she rushed toward him with the dressing gown.

"Yeah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams," he remarked with faux modesty as she slipped the dressing gown over his shoulders.  "Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man. Hold on, what have I got in here?" he asked suddenly, pulling the satsuma out of his pocket as Rose giggled.  "A satsuma. Ah, that friend of your mothers—he does like his snacks doesn’t he? But doesn’t that just sum up Christmas?  You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there’s always one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?"

Behind them, Rose heard the leader get up and roar as he prepared to charge the Doctor.  The man in question didn’t even turn around, just hurled the satsuma at a button on the wall with a hard look on his face.  Rose glanced around to see the leader plummet from the ship with a scream.

"No second chances," the Doctor said darkly.  "I’m that sort of man."

Rose shivered.  It was so easy to forget sometimes, when watching this cheerful, manic man, where all that anger his previous self exhibited had gone.  It burned just beneath the surface, and had a much darker, subtler tone to it.  He might grin and smile, but there was a reason he was called the Oncoming Storm…he was inevitability for all the creatures in the universe that stood against him, and he would never, ever stop.

"By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time," he was telling the rest of the Sycorax.  "And when go you back to the stars and tell others of this planet… when you tell them of its riches, its people, its potential—when you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this: It. Is. _Defended_.”

And they were back on the street.

"Where are we?" Rose asked, looking around.

"We’re just off Bloxom Road," Mickey said excitedly.  "We’re just round the corner, we did it!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute…" the Doctor said, holding up a hand as Mickey jumped around excitedly.  The engines of the ship started up, and the ship took off, making the Doctor grin.

"Go on, my son!" Mickey yelled. "Oh, yeah!  It is defended!"

Rose launched herself at the Doctor, hugging him tightly.  He was surprised, but wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up, spinning her around.  “Missed you,” she whispered before kissing his cheek quickly and dashing away to hug Mickey. 

She didn’t miss the bemused smile on the Doctor’s face before he turned to Harriet Jones.  They hugged and talked quietly for a moment.  She inched closer to hear him tell her, “This planet’s so noisy. You’re getting noticed…more and more.  You’d better get used to it.”

She chewed a nail, debating how and when to bring up Torchwood as her mother called her name.

"Oh! Talking of trouble…!" the Doctor said with a smile.  They both walked toward Jackie as she ran up.

"Oh, my God! You did it, Rose! Oh!"

"You did it too!" she told Jackie honestly.  "It was the tea! Fixed his head!"

"That was all I needed, cuppa tea," the Doctor said with a smile.

"I said so!" Jackie cried, before eyeing the Doctor.  "Is it him, though? Is it really the Doctor?"  Rose nodded to Harriet Jones.  "Oh, my God! It’s the bleeding Prime Minister!"

"Come here, you," the Doctor said, holding his arms out to Jackie, who threw her arms around him.

Rose smiled, but sidled away.  She had heard Indra’s communicator go off.  It was now or never.

"It’s a message from Torchwood," he said as Rose stepped closer.  "They say they’re ready."

"Don’t do this Harriet," Rose said in a low voice.  "They’re leaving.  It doesn’t have to come to this."

Harriet closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and looked at her.  “I cannot let this stand. The Doctor is not the defender of this planet, we are.  The human race.  That needs to be known.”

"Harriet, please," she begged.

"Rose, I don’t know how they do things on the other planets you’ve been to, but this is the way we do things here," she said.  "This is a matter of State, and that is my responsibility.  Tell them to fire," she told the aid.

"Fire at will," the aid said into his communicator.

Rose backed away slowly toward the Doctor, looking sadly at Harriet Jones.  Architect of the Golden Age of Britain, and so quick to murder.  The others jumped as the green light shot up from the ground nearby, and they all turned to watch the same light shoot up from four other points, meeting together in the sky and shooting up at the ship, blasting it apart.

"That was murder," the Doctor said angrily, striding forward to stand at Rose’s shoulder.

"That was defense," Harriet corrected him. "It’s adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago."

"But they were leaving!"

"You said yourself, Doctor. They’d go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth," Harriet said, unapologetic.  "I’m sorry, Doctor, but you’re not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today—Mr Llewellyn and the Major. They were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case, we have to defend ourselves."

"Britain’s Golden Age," the Doctor spat with disdain.

"It comes with a price," Harriet replied calmly.

"I gave them the wrong warning. I should’ve told them to run," he said, still furious.  "As fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming: the human race."

"Those are the people I represent," Harriet said defensively.  "I did it on their behalf."

"Then I should’ve stopped you."

"Rose already tried, Doctor," she told him, and he glanced down at Rose in surprise.  "What does that make the two of you?  Another alien threat?"

"Don’t challenge me, Harriet Jones," he warned, stepping forward angrily.  “‘Cause I’m a completely new man. I could bring down your Government with a single word."

"You’re the most remarkable man I’ve ever met," she said with a sigh.  "But I don’t think you’re quite capable of that."

"No, you’re right. Not a single word," he said, staring her down.  "Just six."

"I don’t think so," she said shaking her head.

"Six words."

"Stop it!"

"Six."

The watched eachother for another moment, battling their wills against eachother.  The Doctor slowly walked up to Indra, standing a few feet behind her, and took off his earpiece, whispering something they couldn’t hear, but Rose knew what it was.

“ _Don’t you think she looks tired?”_

Then he walked away.  Rose gazed sadly at Harriet for another moment before turning and following the Doctor, Jackie and Mickey quickly following suit.  They heard her calling after them, asking the Doctor what he’d said, but they ignored her and trudged on toward the flat.

oOoOo

The Doctor excused himself while the Tyler women excitedly set about making a Christmas dinner set for a king, claiming the need for a shower and real clothes.  He didn’t want to put back on the jumper and leather jacket he’d been wearing before.  It didn’t suit him anymore.  He walked slowly back to the TARDIS, looking up at it as he approached.  He smiled and stroked the side fondly.  This magnificent ship of his, which, he had no doubt, would not have been opened, even by that most stubborn of women, if she had not allowed it.

"Thanks, old girl," he said softly as he stepped inside.

He made his way to the Wardrobe, intent on finding something that fit his new personality.  Classy and a little quirky, that’s what he’d go for.  He wandered around, examining various articles of clothing.  He wrapped a scarf around his neck experimentally, but quickly dismissing it as “been done.”  A suit on a lower rack caught his attention, already dressed with an Oxford shirt.  He examined it speculatively, then noticed the coat that Janis Joplin had given him nearby.  Rose had asked about that one.  He smiled as he held it up against the suit.  That…could definitely work.

He walked quickly to his own bedroom, which he happily found had already changed to suit his tastes.  Gone were the spartan, institutional furnishings that his last self had contented himself with, replaced with dark woods and warm blues.  A four post bed dominated the space, covered in a rich blue duvet.  There was a wide wardrobe to one side, and a large desk next to an already half full book case was on the other.  He smiled gleefully as he took it in before quickly moving to en suite and, after a long shower, took his first real look at his new face as he shaved and worked his big hair into an artful state of disarray.  Not bad, he had to admit.  A bit…pretty, actually.  Rather like Adam and Jack.  Rose would certainly enjoy that.

He slipped into the suit and ran back to the Wardrobe in search of shoes and an appropriate tie.  The tie took quite a long time to decide, so by the time he made it to shoes he simply grabbed a pair of slightly worn chucks, which, he realized, might not be a bad choice.  He could wear a suit…but there was still going to be an awful lot of running.  Chucks would be better than dress shoes, and would quite nicely add the quirk he needed to his classy style.  He found a mirror and examined the whole package, twisting around before scrubbing a hand down his face again.  He straightened up.  Oh yeah, this was good.  He was going to have fun in this body.  Rose would like this body.

_Rose._

She remembered what happened at the GameStation.  The kiss that had saved her life.  But she didn’t know that when he regenerated, all he could think about was how much he cared about her.  It was entirely possible that this new pretty boy body was entirely because of that.  He had been so focused on her that he had become exactly what she wanted.

_I am in so much trouble_ , he thought with a sigh.

oOoOo

Rose looked up when the door slammed shut, and her breath hitched when she took in the Doctor, _her_ Doctor, in his pinstripes and long coat.  He watched her warily for a moment, until she smiled at him, and an answering grin broke out on his face as he joined them at the table.  The four of them talked and laughed and ate and popped Christmas crackers.  Rose felt better in this moment than she had in years, since the day she got stuck in another world.  She laughed when the Doctor happily put a paper crown on his head before offering another cracker to her, finding a pink one for her.

A cloud came over him when Harriet Jones came on the TV, and only darkened when they went outside to see the “snow.”  People were already playing around, tossing balls at each other and laughing.

"This isn’t snow, is it?" she asked him as he stood looking up at the sky.

"It’s ash," he said.  "The spaceship is breaking up in the atmosphere.  And this is a brand new planet Earth," he added, shifting his gaze downwards to look around him.  "No denying the existence of aliens now—everyone saw it. Everything’s new."

As Rose watched him, a sudden wave of insecurity washed over her.  He had essentially died trying to save her, and then had gotten so sick because she couldn’t remember how to fix him and couldn’t save herself on her own.

"Doctor…"

"Hmm?"  He looked down at her, his brown eyes warm like melted chocolate.

"What about you?  What’re you gonna do next?" she finally asked, feeling like an idiot.

"Well… back to the TARDIS… same old life," he said, glancing at the TARDIS before looking back at her.  His eyes were still a now a little wary.

"Can I…I mean, do you still want me to come?" she choked out.

“Do you still want to come?” he asked, looking down at her oddly.  “I just thought…maybe, because I changed…”

“No, I…it…I mean, I’m okay,” she said weakly.  “I’d love to come.”

"The Doctor and Rose Tyler, in the TARDIS, just as it should be," he said as he grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. 

"Right," she choked out, staring at him.  Then she shook herself, grinning widely at him.  "Right!"

"Well, I reckon you’re mad," Jackie said.  "The pair of you. It’s like you go looking for trouble."

The Doctor released Rose and rushed up to her mother.  “Trouble’s just the bits in-between,” he told her, putting an arm around her.  “It’s all waiting out there, Jackie.  And it’s brand new to me.  All those planets… creatures and horizons… I haven’t seen them yet! Not with these eyes.” He walked back to Rose, adding, “And it is gonna be…fantastic.”

They grinned at each other, and he held out his fightin’ hand.  She took it without hesitation, loving the feel of it around hers again.  She snuggled up to his arm before asking, “So, where’re we gonna go first?”

"Um…that way," he said, pointing at the sky.  "No, hold on…that way," he said again, pointing in a different direction.

"That way?" she asked, pointing the same way.

"Do you think?"

"Yeah. That way."  Because it didn’t matter.  As long as Rose Tyler had the Doctor, any way was perfect.


	33. Auld Lang Syne

When they’d gotten back inside, they had opened presents, and then Rose had chatted with her mother and Mickey over a bottle of amaretto, and then she’d changed her sheets, then proceeded to scrub the kitchen when her mother went to bed and Mickey went home.

In short, Rose Tyler was avoiding him.

What he couldn’t figure out was _why_.  She had been the one, out of the all of them, that never gave up on him.  He’d felt her, even while he was sleeping, curled next to him, her warm presence soothing him.  He’d even felt her tears, and wished he could wipe them all away.  But now he was awake, all better, and she wanted nothing to do with him.  No, that wasn’t right.  When he talked to her, she answered, always in a chipper voice that bordered on hysteria and wearing a brittle smile that never quite reached her eyes, eyes that wouldn’t quite meet his gaze, and then she would move on to the next activity or start up a new conversation with Mickey or Jackie.

Now that everyone else was gone, he found her scrubbing a pan for all it was worth, even though he could tell from a distance it was already quite clean.  He leaned on the door frame and watched her.  She was muttering to herself, which she only did when she was angry, and her whole body radiated tension.  Something was very, very wrong, and she didn’t want to talk to anyone but herself about it…well, that just wasn’t going to work for him.  His old self would have let her alone, figuring she’d talk if she wanted, then go off and brood somewhere.  But he was a brand new man, and one who liked to talk.

“Rose,” he called softly, pushing of the frame.  She froze.  He took a few slow steps toward her.

“Didja need something?” she asked in a bright voice.  “There’s still a bit of that amaretto left, or I could make some tea.  That seems to do you good.”

“I want you to tell me what’s wrong,” he said in a low voice.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she said with more false cheer, again scrubbing the pan.

“Well, for one, if you keep scrubbing that pan like that, you’ll wear a hole in it,” he said calmly. She froze again.  “Also, you won’t look at me.”  She slumped a little.  “What is it, Rose?  Is it because I changed?”

Panic clawed at him once again when she hesitated.  She had taken the explanation so well, and after a moment of initial shock had seemed fine with his new self, but what if he’d read her completely wrong?  What if he lost her now?  He couldn’t lose her now.

“No,” she said quietly.  Ah.  So, not the change.  He breathed a sigh of relief, but backtracked again quickly.  But there was something.  Something extremely not right.  Something he needed to fix immediately.

“What is it?” he asked again.

“It’s my fault,” she whispered.  The Doctor’s mind reeled.  What could she possibly be blaming herself for _now_?  And wasn’t that sort of his bag?  When had she picked that self-recrimination up?

“What is?”

“You changed because of me,” she whispered, and he could hear the tears in her voice.  “The…other you _died_ because of me.  And then you got…so sick…because I couldn’t do anything.”  She sniffed.  “I’m so sorry, Doctor.”

“Oh, Rose…”  He quickly closed the distance between them, and pulled her around to face him.  “It’s not your fault.  None of it.  You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.  I changed because I saved you, yes, but I already knew that was going to happen.  I made that decision.  And I’d do it again if it meant keeping you alive.  Because if you hadn’t done what you did, I wouldn’t have changed, I’d be dead.  Completely.  Kaput, finito, deceased, finished, extinct, iced…not iced.  Too New York gangster.  But the idea is the same,” he said quickly, his gaze drifting back her eyes as he returned to his original point, cupping her face between his hands.  “You saved me, and I saved you, because you, Rose Tyler, are worth dying for.”

He hesitated for a microsecond, then leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.  A friendly kiss, just to make the point known.  That was all.  It wasn’t because he was craving the feel of her lips on his again or because he was dying to explore the taste of her with this new body that had insane senses.  Not at all.  All the same, he pulled his head back before he wanted to, because if he didn’t he wasn’t sure how long he could keep it a friendly kiss.

She was looking at him with wide eyes.  Then she gave him a small smile.  “Always have to outdo Jack, don’t you Doctor?”

He blinked at her, then remembered the way Jack had said goodbye at the GameStation.

_“Rose…you are worth fighting for,” he’d said before gently kissing her on the lips._

“Well…can’t have him getting all the good lines,” he said after a second, grinning down at her.  “So are we alright, then?”

She opened her mouth, then closed it again.  Her expression turned sheepish.  “Well, there is one other thing.  And this one you might not forgive me for so easily.”

“What is it?” he asked, dropping his hands when he realized he was still holding her face.

“I…may have…sort of…promised Mum we’d stay til New Year’s,” she said, the last words leaving her in a whoosh.

“Ah.  That is…ah.” He stared into the middle distance for a moment.  A week with Jackie Tyler.  “No chance that—“

“No, you cannot leave now and skip forward a week to pick me up,” she said quickly, and he deflated a little.  “With how you drive, you might end up on the moon in ten years’ time or something.”

“Right,” he said finally.  “Roooose…” he whined, pulling a face.  She looked back at him steadily, even if she was fighting a smile.  “Fine,” he agreed sullenly.  “But you owe me, Rose Tyler.  And we’re watching A Muppet Christmas Carol…right now,” he added, picking her up as she squealed and plonking her down on the sofa.

oOoOo

Spending a week at the Tyler flat turned out to be easier than the Doctor had originally thought.  Even having to deal with the nearly constant presence of Jackie and Mickey was easy, because about the time they became too much for him, Rose would find some reason her and the Doctor needed to leave the flat immediately, or at least hide in her old bedroom for a couple of hours.  As long as Rose was around, he decided, time could move as slowly as it wanted to.

He cheated once, while she was sleeping.  He had slipped out into the TARDIS and returned to the same craftsman he’d used before with new plans, skipping forward three weeks to pick up the commission before returning back to London no more than an hour after he left.  It was worth it.  The look on her face when he’d taken her necklace to affix a delicate snowflake charm next to the key and TARDIS made it all worth it.

He kissed her again at midnight on New Year’s Eve.  It was another chaste, friendly kiss…even if it did last slightly longer than was probably allowed, and it left him a little lightheaded.  He quite liked kissing her, but wasn’t sure if he’d find another excuse to do so.  Not that he should.  Because she was his companion.  He had rules about that.  Not that he’d ever really needed them.  Even when Peri had strutted around in bikini tops, he’d had no problem keeping to his hands off policy.  Rose, however…Rose tested the furthest lengths of his considerable restraint.  But he couldn’t let his resolve break…she would leave eventually, and he couldn’t…he just couldn’t.

After Jackie had fallen into bed, the Doctor and Rose stayed up watching _It’s A Wonderful Life_ and cuddling on the sofa.  They were lying next to each other—or, more accurately, the Doctor was lying on the sofa, and Rose was lying half on top of him, her leg snaked around his while her head and part of her torso rested on his chest.  He was stroking her hair lightly, marveling once again at how well she fit against this new body of his, and how good she felt there.

“Can you tell me about your other companions?” she asked suddenly.

His motions stilled as he looked down at her.  “Where did that come from?”

“End of the year,” she said with a shrug.  “Lest old acquaintances be forgot, and all that.”

“Auld lang syne indeed,” he murmured.  “What makes you so sure that there were others?” he hedged.

“Oh, c’mon Doctor,” she said, raising her head to hit him with a withering stare.  “First of all, you said you _started_ travelling with humans because of Susan, and that was some forty years ago or something.  Second of all, I can’t imagine you would have nearly as much fun travelling around being clever if you didn’t have someone to show off to.  Third of all, you admitted yourself that you were lonely—“

“Alright, point made,” he said quickly.  He sighed.  “Well, for one thing, you should know that it was only forty some years ago in your timeline.  It was a few hundred for me.”

“What, seriously?”

“Seriously,” he said, nodding.  “And even ignoring that…it’s a very long list.  Not that you’re just the latest in a string of people or anything,” he said hurriedly when she arched an eyebrow at him.  Hold on, though, wasn’t she?  She was his latest companion after all.  No, he realized.  She wasn’t the latest in a string.  She was something entirely new.  Something…a little frightening.

“So, are you going to tell me about them?” she asked, breaking into his thoughts.

“What?  Oh.  Um.  Yes?”  He sighed again, running a hand through his hair, a mannerism he’d picked up quickly now that he actually had hair again.  “You realize, don’t you, that there’s a reason that I don’t really…talk about them.”

Rose considered him for a moment.  “Well, how about we narrow it down then.  Who have you travelled with that didn’t leave on some distant planet and/or far into the future?  Who might still be around here on earth?”

The Doctor shifted a little uncomfortably.  It bothered him how many people that cut out of the list.  Two names occurred to him as most likely candidates.  “Jo, maybe.  And Sarah Jane.  She came along right after Jo went off to get married to a hippie,” he said pulling a face.

“Really?” she asked, giggling.

“Yeah…a professor.  She said he reminded her of a younger me.  They went off on an expedition to the Amazon right after she left.” He stared away, lost in memories.  “I didn’t like her much at first.  She wasn’t…well, she wasn’t very scientifically inclined, and pretty jeopardy friendly in her own right,” he added, nudging Rose.  “She grew up in front of me.  At the time, I mostly just wanted someone around to pass me test tubes and tell me how clever I was.  Right before she left…she sort of left in another way.  Wouldn’t go on the adventure I wanted, no matter how much I pouted—which turned out to be a nightmare, by the way—and went off to have her own adventure fighting for the environment.”

“That’s where she met the professor?”

He nodded.  “Clifford Jones.  Bit of a prat.”

“Doctor!”

“He was!  But she loved him.  So…that happened.”

“And Sarah Jane?”

“The stowaway,” he said, with a sort of goofy giggle.  “She was a born investigator.  Always had to pick at loose strings she found.  Got her in trouble more than once.  Anyway, that’s how she came to travel with me.  She apparently thought I was odd,” he said, winking at Rose.  “So she hid away in the TARDIS.  Turns out I was actually a lot more odd than she anticipated.  Especially after she saw regeneration herself.”

“What happened to her?” Rose asked.

“She had to leave,” he said softly, his thoughts turning dark.  “I…I had to go home.  She couldn’t come.  Humans weren’t allowed at the time.  So she had to leave.”

“Doctor?”

“Hmm?” He looked up to her studying him.

“Does it bother you to talk about your past with me?”

He hesitated.  He had gone so long without talking about…anything, really.  Nothing personal, anyway.  It was safer that way.  It hurt less if he locked everything away when a companion left and he could start fresh with a new one.  He hadn’t really ever had anyone that knew more than a few details about him, even amongst other Time Lords if he could keep them out of his head.  Then the War had come, and there hadn’t been anyone left, and he’d spent a few decades completely avoiding travelling companions.  Then he’d met Rose.  He marveled again at how she was so completely unlike anyone else, and when he talked to her about things like the War and even his other companions, even Susan, he felt…safe.  Which was insane, because she was human, and so very young, and would eventually go off to get married or work some fantastic job, just like the others.  Or…even if she didn’t…she wouldn’t last.  Bearing his soul to her wouldn’t do him any good when she was gone.  But right now…

“No,” he said finally.  “Not with you.”

She beamed up at him.  He grinned back, and, realizing that the film had finished while they were talking, began to tell her about some of his time with UNIT and his adventures during and after his exile.  She laughed at the way he spoke longingly of his car, and begged to see his old scarf when they got back to the TARDIS.  As the sun began to rise, she fell asleep on his chest.  He watched her for a long time, studying her features.

She made him feel safe when he talked to her about his past.  But then, he also only told her enough to keep himself safe.  It was easy, he realized, to feel safe when he only talked about the dreams, rather than the nightmares.  He wondered briefly if she’d be so forgiving if she knew what sort of man he was really capable of being, the harm he’d caused to so many others, even apart from the destruction he’d wrought in the war.  Some old acquaintances were better off forgotten.


	34. New Earth, part 1

Before they left again, Rose found some time to visit the TARDIS on her own while the Doctor sat on Mickey’s computer, giggling at some new archaeological finding that they had gotten completely wrong.  She smiled as she unlocked the door, glimpsing the charms that hung with the key.  The Doctor had said the snowflake was to make up for the morbid fake snow that they’d had on Christmas.  She had been a little perturbed when she found out that he’d snuck off while she was sleeping, but the thought behind the gesture more than made up for it.

She looked around uncertainly after she closed the door behind her.  She felt the buzz of the ship in her mind, maybe stronger than it had been, but it still might be wishful thinking.  She had to find out for sure though.  It had been bothering her since she first woke up after the GameStation.

She sat down in the captain’s chair and crossed her legs beneath her.  She closed her eyes, focusing on the presence she felt.

_I know I heard you_ , she thought experimentally.  _At least, I THINK I did._

_Hello, my Wolf._

Rose started in surprise.  Even though she’d been going over the memory many times since then, she still hadn’t totally expected it to work.

_TARDIS?_

_Yes.  Our bond is far stronger now than it ever has been._

Again, it wasn’t actually words.  It was a sort of…singing, a lilting melody that ran through her head that somehow translated to cohesive thoughts as she listened.  She immediately knew that she would go crazy even trying to explain it to anyone else.

_Not the Doctor._

"Okay, that’s just not fair," she said out loud.  "I don’t need a running commentary on all my thoughts from a spaceship, sentient or not."

_Of course, my Wolf_ , came the thought, somehow managing to be tinged with amusement.  Rose made an irritated noise.

“Do you talk to the Doctor like this too?” she asked out loud again, feeling more comfortable for the moment to have at least part of the conversation exist outside of her own head.

_When he’s willing to listen_.  The song managed to sound disgruntled, and Rose smiled.  That certainly sounded like the Doctor.

"Okay, so why?"

_An echo of our bond remained when your consciousness was sent backwards in time,_ the singing explained.  _Because of this, there was already a pathway formed to create a stronger link._

Rose nodded.  The TARDIS had said something before about things changing when she took the Vortex in again.  Apparently, this was it.

_Not all of it._

"Stop that," Rose ordered, then sighed.  This was going to take some getting used to.  "Where were you while he was sick?"

_What you thought before was close enough to the truth_ , the TARDIS informed her.  _When he is incapacitated, I become much weaker._

"That’s…disturbing," she said finally, contemplating the possible ramifications of that little tidbit.  "Alright.  So what else, besides a nosy ship?"

_It is uncertain_.

"That’s it?  ‘It is uncertain’?" she asked in disbelief.  "You’ve got to give me more to go on than that."

_Your mind is changing.  Taking on new shapes.  You will have a much higher capacity for learning, which should help you when the Doctor lectures_ , the TARDIS added, managing to sound exasperated, making Rose burst out laughing.  _As time goes on, new strengths may become apparent._

"Such as?"

_You may become more attuned to the passage of time, as well as your place in a specific time_.

"So I won’t have to ask the Doctor all the time where the hell we are?" she asked in surprise.  "That could be handy.  Hang on, though, that’s a Time Lord thing, isn’t it?"

_Many of the strengths that you may exhibit are similar to those of a Time Lord, though on a much smaller scale_.

"How is that possible?  That didn’t happen before!"

_Part of the reason the Time Lords were the beings they were was due to prolonged exposure to the Time Vortex as they evolved. It stands to reason that repeated exposure yourself, specifically mentally, would grant you some of the same characteristics._   _And, as I’ve explained before, it did happen before.  If you had been in the correct universe, you would still have had a far more rapid rate of healing and lived many times longer than the average human lifespan._

As Rose considered this, her mother’s words from long ago, ones that still had yet to be uttered, came back to haunt her.

_"You’ll keep on changing. And in forty years’ time, fifty, there’ll be this woman, this strange woman… walking through the marketplace on some planet a billion miles from Earth. She’s not Rose Tyler. Not anymore. She’s not even human…"_

_No, my Wolf.  That is NOT what will happen._

"How can you say that?" she asked as tears blurred her vision.  "You were the one telling me how I’ve changed, how I’m apparently going to keep changing."

_Not like that.  You will always be Rose Tyler.  You will always be human.  Just…slightly augmented._

"What the hell does that mean?"

_You are still you.  Anything that becomes apparent has already taken place and will not grow indefinitely.  You are not a Time Lord.  You are human.  You are just now slightly more._

"What about…" A new thought occurred to her.  "What about the psychic stuff?  Can I do that?"

_No.  However…_

"However what?" she asked, excited despite herself.

_You will be less vulnerable to psychic attacks, and be able to protect yourself better._

Rose stared into space.  That could definitely be a good thing.  Psychic attacks sounded…bad.  But… “There’s more, isn’t there?”  She waited expectantly when she felt an uncertain buzz in her mind.  “Come on, then.  You’re going to have to tell me sooner or later.”

_This will have to be later, my Wolf.  There are still possibilities and uncertainties, and too much is still at stake._

Rose huffed out a breath.  That was…annoying.  “This is why I had to come back before Canary Wharf, isn’t it?”

_This is part of it._

"You…are a very scary schemer," she said finally.  "Remind me to stay on your good side."  She felt a buzz of amusement and affection.

_The Doctor is looking for you.  Go to him.  But do not speak of this.  Not yet._   _The pain would be too much if you were to fail._

"Rose?" she heard him calling as he unlocked the door.  She smiled at him when he entered the TARDIS.  "What’re you doing in here?"

"Just making sure I’d gotten all the wash together," she lied automatically.  He raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at her comfortable position in the chair.  "Oh, alright, I missed the TARDIS."

He grinned.  “She is pretty marvelous, isn’t she?  Well, if you miss her that much, go finish packing so we can leave already.”

"Alright, alright, no need to get snappy," she said as she walked past him for the doors.

"Snappy?" he squeaked incredulously.  "Rose Tyler, that was not snappy.  I can give you snappy."

She just laughed and left him to sort out their flight plan while she finished packing.

oOoOo

She said her goodbyes to her mum and Mickey quickly, and ran into the TARDIS.  He looked up as she entered, and they grinned at each other as she dropped her things, not bothering to take them to her room.  She could do that later.  This was important.

She darted up to the console.  “I want to go further than we’ve ever gone before,” she said, excited.

"Rose Tyler," he said with a grin, "it would be my pleasure."

Rose felt the TARDIS lurch, and felt them spin through the Vortex.  No matter how many times she’d been through this with him, the start of an adventure would never get old.

"It’s the year five billion and twenty three," the Doctor said as they stepped out of the TARDIS.  "We’re in the galaxy M87, and this?" He gestured expansively to the city and the cars zooming around it.  "This is New Earth."

"That’s amazing. This will never get old," she said happily, grinning up at him.  "Never. Different ground beneath my feet, different sky."  She sniffed deeply. "Smells like…apples."

"Apple grass," he said stooping down to pick some up and show her.

"Apple grass," she moaned happily.

"Yeah, yeah."

"It’s beautiful. Oh, I love this," she said, and turned to throw her arms around his neck, thrilled when he wrapped his arms around her as well.  "Can I just say, travelling with you, I love it."

"Me too," he said, smiling down at her before grabbing one her hands and spinning her. "Come on," he said, pulling her away down the hill.

He spread his coat out on the ground and pulled her down next to him, laying back to watch the clouds and cars.

"So, the year five billion, the sun expands, the Earth gets roasted," he began.

"That was our first date," Rose interjected happily.

"We had chips," he said, looking up at her fondly.  "So anyway, planet gone, all rocks and dust, but the human race lives on, spread out across the stars. Soon as the Earth burns up, oh yeah, they get all nostalgic, big revival movement, but then find this place. Same size as the Earth, same air, same orbit. Lovely. Call goes out, the humans move in."

"And I’ll bet the city is called something daft like New London," she said with a sidelong glance at him.

"Close in creativity, off by about 3500 miles," he said with a grin.  "That’s the city of New New York. Strictly speaking, it’s the fifteenth New York since the original, so that makes it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York."

She watched him while he rattled this off, feeling like she was in a dream.  Even after months of going through this, there were times it still caught her off guard that she was really here with him again, even more so since he regenerated.

"What?" he asked, catching her look.

"You’re…so different," she said.  That was probably the safest answer she could give.

"New New Doctor," he said with another grin.  "Good different or bad different?"

"Just different," she told him, standing.  "So, can we go and visit New New York, so good they named it twice?"

"Well, I thought we might go there first," he said, nodding to the hospital set apart from the city.

"A hospital?" she asked.  He glanced down at her in surprise.  "Didn’t you say that green moon was the universal symbol for hospitals?" she asked, giving herself a mental smack in the head even as she felt the TARDIS tutting her.

"Did I?  That was very forward thinking of me," he said, frowning a little.  After a moment, his face cleared.  "Anyway, I got this. A message on the psychic paper," he said, handing it to her so she could read it scrawling _Ward 26 Please Come_.  “Someone wants to see me.”

Rose suddenly realized that she remembered almost nothing about this adventure.  Cassandra had been in and out of her head, and every time she’d taken over, Rose had blacked out.  The Doctor had only filled her in on bits and pieces, including, with much amusement, Cassandra’s opinion that Rose was a chav.  She wasn’t even sure who they had ended up seeing.  This was not promising to be a fun day. 

"Come on, then," she said, trying to keep a resigned tone from her voice as she took his arm.  "Let’s find out who wants to see you."

"When did I tell you about the hospital?" he asked as they walked.  "We haven’t been to any hospitals.  None that warranted a green moon, anyway.”

"Oh, I dunno, must have just come up in conversation," she said evasively.  "Come to think of it, though, you’re the _Doctor_.  You’d think we’d have ended up at hospitals loads of times.”

"Yeah, not so much," he told her, pulling a face.  "Tend to avoid places like that.  Never turns out well for me."

"Bit rich coming from you."

"I can’t help it," he said as they entered the building.  "I don’t like hospitals. They give me the creeps."

"Very smart," Rose remarked, looking around.  She shot a look up at him.  "Can’t believe there’s no shop though."

"Yeah," he agreed, disappointed.  "I like a little shop."

"I thought this far in the future, they’d have cured everything," Rose commented.

"The human race moves on, but so do the viruses," he said.  "It’s an ongoing war."

Rose caught a glimpse of one of the cat nun’s faces and shuddered a little.  The Doctor had told her what they’d done.  It didn’t sound pretty.

"Now, don’t stare," the Doctor said, misinterpreting her look.  "Think what you look like to them, all pink and yellow. That’s where I’d put the shop. Right there," he said, pointing away before walking off to the lift. Rose barely noticed as she watched the nurses around her, until she heard him call, "Ward 26, thanks!"

She ran for the lift, but it once again closed just before she got there.  She vaguely remembered Chip saying something about the controls to the lift.  Maybe he’d gotten to the Doctor’s as well.

"Too late, I’m going up," the Doctor called through the door.

"It’s alright," she called back.  "There’s another lift."

"Ward 26," he reminded her.  "And watch out for the disinfectant!"

Rose eyed the other lift warily.  Cassandra and her lackey were already working on her.  Even if she waited for another lift, they’d probably grab control of that one too.  Conceivably, she could get in, and then ride it back up when Chip relinquished control.  She didn’t see any stairs close by…come to think of it, not a whole lot of stairs in the future, period.  Bit too analog, apparently.  She sighed.  Sometimes, it just didn’t pay to step out of the TARDIS.

"Ward 26, thanks," she called as she stepped into the lift.  Worth a try.

At least this time she was prepared for the disinfectant.  It was actually sort of refreshing when you knew it was coming.  By the time it stopped, she felt clean and invigorated.  She called for the correct ward again, but the lift didn’t move.  So much for that.

She stepped warily out of the lift, seeing the dingy cellar around her.

"The human child is clean," Chip intoned.

"I’m supposed to be in Ward 26," she told him.

"This way, Rose Tyler," he said, skipping away from her.

"Yeah, that’s not gonna happen," she said, and he stopped, looking back at her in shock.  "Did you really expect me to follow some strange man into the depths of a hospital cellar alone?”  Yes, that is exactly what he expected, and exactly what she’d done, because she was an idiot.  She shook her head.

"But my mistress wants to meet with you," Chip said, skipping toward her again.

"Yeah, well, your mistress is going to have to learn to live with disappointment," she said evenly.

"I mustn’t disappoint the mistress," he said, shaking his head and taking her hand.  "My apologies, Rose Tyler."

She felt a prick on the back of her hand, and looked down to see a tiny injection device.  “Oh, you’ve got to be joking,” she said, just before she lost consciousness.

oOoOo

Rose woke up quickly, realizing that only about five minutes had passed.  Quick acting and quick metabolizing, putting her out just long enough…she looked up to see the reel to reel playing Cassandra’s party tape.  She jumped to her feet and spun around.

"Peekaboo!" Cassandra called.

"Oh, nuh uh, no, we’re not doing this," Rose said.  "Once was enough with you, Cassandra."

"Oh, you mean when you murdered me on Platform One?" she accused.

"You did that to yourself," Rose replied calmly.  "You would have survived just fine if you hadn’t tried to kill everyone else."

"Aren’t you even wondering how I made it out alive?" the skin asked.

"Nope," she said, popping the ‘p’.  "Don’t know, don’t care, got things to do."

"Things to do with this hospital," Cassandra suggested.  "The nuns are keeping secrets."

"Yeah, so’s gollum over there," she said, nodding at Chip.  "They don’t even know you’re here, do they?"

"Chip secreted m’lady into the hospital," Chip chimed in. "Chip steals medicine. Helps m’lady. Soothes her, strokes her."

"You can stop right there, Chip," Rose said, holding up a hand and frowning.

"But I’m so alone, hidden down here," Cassandra said pathetically.  "The last Human in existence."

"Don’t start that again," Rose said wearily.  "They’ve called this planet New Earth."

"A vegetable patch."

"Right, that’s me, done," Rose said.  "Nice to meet you, Chip.  Best of luck, Cassandra…whatever the hell that means."

She turned to go, remembering too late that this was Cassandra’s plan all along.  Once again, she had walked right into it.  The paralyzing energy took hold of her the minute she stepped into the arch.

"Chip, activate the psychograft," Cassandra ordered.

"Dammit, Cassandra, don’t do this!" Rose yelled.

"The lady’s moving on," Cassandra told her.  "It’s goodbye trampoline, and hello blondie."

There was a buzz of energy, and then…

…And then Rose was in the TARDIS.


	35. New Earth, part 2

"What the hell?"

Rose looked around.  This was definitely the TARDIS, but something was…wrong.  The corridor that ran off the console room into the rest of the ship was gone.  The lights were dim, the glow from the time rotor completely extinguished.

_I did say you’d be able to protect yourself better from psychic attacks_ , came the song of the TARDIS.

"This isn’t protection!" she yelled.  "This is…I don’t know what this is!"

_This is your mind, protecting itself from Cassandra’s invasion._

Suddenly, the monitor blinked on.  Rose could hear her own voice saying, “Moisturize me.”  The view swung to take in her arms and fingers as her voice named off the parts.

"Oh, my god," she breathed as she realized what she was seeing.  The monitor was showing what her eyes were seeing.  She hadn’t blacked out, she’d hidden away, constructing a mental TARDIS around herself.  "This is going to get really weird, isn’t it?"  She heard the TARDIS buzz around her.  "Yeah, thought so.  Anyway to get out?"

_I’m sorry, my Wolf._

"Yeah, didn’t think so."  She sighed and moved to the captain’s chair to watch Cassandra parade around in front of a mirror.  She almost wished she had popcorn.

"But what of the Rose child’s mind?" Chip asked out of sight.

"Oh, tucked away," Cassandra said.  "Strange mind, though.  She’s managed to lock most of it away.  I can hardly access even the most recent memories.  Let’s see, she—“

The whole room began to shake rattle.  Rose clung to a rail for support.

“What the hell?”

_Cassandra is trying to access your thoughts and memories,_ the TARDIS sang. _Your mind is fighting back._

_“You’re the Doctor,”_ Rose heard her own voice say, looped and reverberating.

“Oh, she is a stubborn one,” Cassandra spat impatiently.  “But, oh—gosh, she’s with the Doctor. That man. He’s the Doctor. The same Doctor with a new face. That hypocrite! I must get the name of his surgeon. I could do with a little work. Although nice rear bumper. Hmm.”

"Put a knife anywhere near that body and die, Cassandra," Rose spat out at the monitor as the phone started ringing.  "I do _not_ talk like that,” she added as she heard Cassandra attempt to mimic her.

"You’ll never guess," the Doctor said on the phone.  "I’m with the Face of Boe!  Remember him?"

"Better than you," Rose muttered, realizing that the Doctor had no idea who Boe really was.  "Oh come on," she burst out when she saw the way Cassandra was altering her appearance.  "He knows I’d never dress like that!"

She sat back, miffed, as Cassandra made her way up to the Doctor.  He rushed up to her when she appeared, explaining the strange recoveries that were happening around them.  It wasn’t until they went looking for a terminal that Rose completely saw red.

"SHE KISSED HIM!" she yelled, jumping to her feet.  "Cassandra actually KISSED the Doctor!"

_And he liked it_ , added the TARDIS.

"Oh, ew, that’s just…hold on, what?"

_He didn’t know it wasn’t you. Not for sure.   He liked it._

"That’s…interesting."  Rose chewed a nail.  "Did she do that last time?"

_Yes._

"He didn’t tell me about that!"

_He didn’t kiss you on New Year’s last time either._

Rose flushed guiltily.  “You know about that?”

_I’m nosy._

"Clearly."

Rose saw the moment he realized something was off, even if Cassandra didn’t.  Rose knew nothing about computers back home, much less the space age ones here.  She snickered a little at Cassandra’s obliviousness.

All humor went away when she saw the intensive care unit.  She understood now why the Doctor had been so furious with the cats.  Thousands of pods, all with people inside, born to suffer and die without even recognition that they were alive…Rose’s eyes burned with tears even as her gut burned with anger.  She cheered the Doctor on as his rage broke over the cat nun.

"I wonder if Machiavelli was required reading where they studied," Rose mused.

She froze when the Doctor’s anger took on a calmer, darker quality as he asked what had happened to her.

_Harming people makes him angry_ , the TARDIS said.  _Harming you makes him dangerous._

"No!" she yelled when Cassandra sprayed him with the perfume and manhandled him into one of the pods.  She ran to the doors and pulled on them, but to no avail.  She hadn’t really expected success, but it still drove her mad to just sit there and watch it all happen.  "If anything happens to him, Cassandra…"

_It won’t,_ the TARDIS said.  _You know it won’t_.

"Oh, will you just shut up and let me issue empty threats in peace?"

Rose’s fists clenched while Cassandra attempted to blackmail the Sisterhood.  As if that was the most important thing right now.  And then they were running.  Always running.  Trying to keep ahead of the plague carriers that could kill them with a touch.

The Doctor turned on her when they hit a dead end, arguing with her to leave Rose’s body.

"Give her back to me," he ordered darkly, facing Cassandra with sonic raised, and Rose filled with warmth.

And then she was back.  The room spun for a moment as she acclimated to being in control of her body again, but she turned to the Doctor as soon as the dizziness stopped.

"Get out of him, Cassandra!"

"Goodness me, I’m a man," Cassandra giggled.  "Yum. So many parts. And hardly used. Oh, oh, two hearts! Oh, baby, I’m beating out a samba!"

"I told you, get out!"

"Oo, he’s slim, and a little bit foxy,” Cassandra said, the Doctor’s face twisting into a weird smile.  “You think so too, don’t you?  Oh, but you’ve been keeping secrets from the good Doctor, haven’t you?"

Rose was saved from responding when the diseased people broke through the door.

"What do we do? What would he do?" Cassandra asked, slapping at her arm.  "The Doctor, what the hell would he do?"

"Ladder," Rose said quickly.  "We’ve got to get up."

"Out of the way, blondie!" Cassandra yelled as she pushed Rose out of the way.

"Please, help us," a woman said behind Rose. "Help."

"We will," Rose said softly.  "We’ll find a way.  I promise."  Then she took off up the ladder.

"If you get out of the Doctor’s body, he can think of something," Rose told Cassandra as they climbed.

"And go back to being chavtastic?  I think not.  How did you manage to lock yourself away from me?"

"Really not the issue, Cassandra," Rose yelled.  "We’re gonna die if—Get off!" This last was yelled to Matron Casp as she grabbed her ankle.

"All our good work. All that healing," the Matron rasped.  "The good name of the Sisterhood. You have destroyed everything.

"Go and play with a ball of string," Cassandra said derisively.

"Everywhere, disease," the Matron continued.  "This is the human world. Sickness!"  Rose saw the diseased people getting closer, and had to choke back the bile in her throat when she saw the Matron change as one of them touched her.

"Move!" she ordered to Cassandra.

They continued climbing to the next door, but were stopped when it wouldn’t open.  The quarantine kept everything from budging.

"Now what do we do?" Cassandra asked desperately.

"Can you use the sonic screwdriver?" Rose asked with a sinking feeling.

"You mean this thing?" she asked, pulling it out of the Doctor’s jacket pocket.

"Yes, I mean that thing."

"No," she said with a scowl.  "That Doctor’s hidden away all his thoughts.  A bit like you…"

"Not now, Cassandra!" Rose said quickly.  "Go back into me. The Doctor can open it. Do it!"

"Hold on tight," she warned, and then Rose was back in the console room while the Doctor yelled at Cassandra, only to return to her body a moment later.

"No matter how difficult the situation, there is no need to shout," Cassandra whined.

"Cassandra, get out of him!" Rose yelled.

"But I can’t go into you, he simply refuses," Cassandra pouted.  "He’s so rude."

"Wonder why," Rose said.  "Do something.  Now."

"Oh, I am so going to regret this," she said before Rose saw the energy fly out of the Doctor and down past her to the people below.

The Doctor immediately opened the lift doors, reaching out to help Rose out.  “Nice to have you back,” he said warmly.

Before she could answer, she was knocked forward and back into the console room.

"Oh, this is REALLY getting old," she yelled at no one while the Doctor yelled at Cassandra.  She softened only slightly when she heard what Cassandra said to the Doctor.  It had taken her invading a diseased mind to gain any kind of sympathy for the people, but at least she had.

Rose paced as they ran back to the ward and the Doctor finally managed to come up with a plan.  She smiled when he started strapping IV bags to himself.  Every disease, every solution.  The Doctor was going to cure them all.

"If you’re so desperate to stay alive, why don’t you live a little?" he asked Cassandra with a manic grin after he jumped onto the lift cable, and Rose clapped with delight.

She couldn’t see what was happening in the lift while Cassandra held the lever, but she heard him yelling to the carriers to join him, then pass it on.  His shouting got more and more excited as it started working.

"What did they pass on?" Cassandra asked him when he helped her down, now completely drenched.  "Did you kill them? All of them?"

"No. That’s your way of doing things," he told her.  "I’m the Doctor, and I cured them."

Rose smiled proudly as she watched her Doctor walk among the now healthy people milling around reception.  Cassandra really had it backwards.  He was called the Doctor for a reason.  He didn’t destroy anything if there was a way around it.

_Not now_ , the TARDIS put in gently.  Rose saw an image of the Doctor in leather holding a gun to a creature who wasn’t fighting, followed by an image of Gwyneth in the archway.  _It wasn’t so long ago that saving them may not have been his first plan._

When they got back to the ward, Rose suddenly became aware that there were two completely different conversations going on involving the Face of Boe.  In one, the Doctor was talking to him, noting that he no longer appeared to be dying.  In the other…

"You have done well, Rose Tyler," he said to her.

"Thanks, Jack," she said fondly.  "Two telepathic conversations at once…that’s impressive, that is."

"The Doctor isn’t the only one with tricks," Boe said.  "But you must be careful.  You did not respond to Cassandra’s attack the way a human should have.  He has safe guards in place to keep himself from thinking too hard on any…oddness you exhibit, but don’t let him dig too hard, or those safeties will fall apart, and you may once again be facing the Oncoming Storm."

"Alright," she said hesitantly.

"Until we meet again, Rose Tyler," he said.

“‘Bye, Jack,” she said softly as Boe teleported out.  It wasn’t until after he was gone that she realized that she hadn’t met the Face of Boe or Jack again before she’d fallen.

_Things are changing,_ the TARDIS sang to her.  She felt an encouraging buzz, and part of her soared.  Maybe she could succeed after all.

Rose was so absorbed in her thoughts that she had stopped paying attention to what was happening outside of the control room, and was caught off guard when she suddenly found herself in the ward.

"You all right?" the Doctor asked as she collapsed in his arms.  "Rose?  You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, shaking her head a little to clear it before looking up at him. "Hello!"

"Hello!" he said, grinning widely.  "Welcome back."

"Oh, sweet Lord. I’m a walking doodle," Cassandra said in Chip’s voice, making them both turn.

"You can’t stay in there," the Doctor said, releasing Rose and turning to her.  "I’m sorry, Cassandra, but that’s not fair. I can take you to the city. They can build you a skin tank and you can stand trial for what you’ve done."

"Well, that would be rather dramatic," Cassandra admitted.  "Possibly my finest hour, and certainly my finest hat, but I’m afraid we don’t have time. Poor little Chip is only a half-life, and he’s been through so much. His heart is racing so. He’s failing. I don’t think he’s going to last—“ she was cut off as she collapsed to her knees.

"Are you all right?" the Doctor asked, rushing to her side.

"I’m fine," Cassandra assured him.  "I’m dying, but that’s fine."

"I can take you to the city," the Doctor suggested again.

"No, you won’t," Cassandra told him gently.  "Everything’s new on this planet. There’s no place for Chip and me anymore. You’re right, Doctor. It’s time to die, and that’s good."

And there it was.  It took her until the very end of her grossly extended lifespan, but Cassandra finally became human.  Rose smiled at her, and tears burned in her eyes when Cassandra offered a small smile in return.

"Come on," the Doctor said after a moment.  "There’s one last thing I can do."

They brought Cassandra to the party for the Ambassador of Thrace, and watched her die in her own arms.  Strangely fitting for one such as her.  After they returned to the TARDIS, Rose waited until they were back in the Vortex to speak.  She had a plan brewing.

"Doctor?"

"Hmm?" He turned to her, eyebrows raised. 

She walked up to him slowly, and his expression turned wary.  She stopped directly in front of him, and watched him carefully as she put a hand on his chest, just over his jacket lapel.  He didn’t pull away, and she decided to take this as a sign of encouragement.  She put her other hand behind his neck and pulled down gently as she leaned up to press her lips to his.  He froze in front of her.  She could have left it at that.  She probably should have.  But then he melted into the kiss, and she decided that she’d wanted this for far too long to leave it at that _again_.  She flicked her tongue over his lips, and, after a startled moment, he groaned and pulled her tight against him as she plunged her tongue into his open mouth.  They kissed greedily, each fighting for dominance as they tasted and explored each other.

Rose finally pulled away when her lungs started burning.  She was pleased to note that he also seemed to be a little breathless.  She carefully extracted herself from his arms, which fell limply to his sides as he watched her, looking rather dazed.

"That’s how I kiss," she said after a moment.  "Just so you don’t get confused again."

He nodded mutely, and she smiled as she walked out of the room, the TARDIS buzzing with amusement.


	36. Shining Star

“Hold on, hold on!” the Doctor yelled when the engines came to a stop.  “Lemme just…”

“Check and make sure we’re actually where we’re supposed to be?” Rose asked sweetly.

“No, of course not!” he said indignantly.  “Just making sure…we’re parked correctly.”  He avoided her gaze as he darted out of the TARDIS.  He grinned when he realized that they were, in fact, exactly where he wanted them to be.  “Alright, everything’s fine,” he said happily as he stepped back into the TARDIS for his coat and companion.

“Alright, so, enlighten me,” Rose said as they stepped outside together.

“It’s 1966, New York City, and that,” he said, pointing to the stadium in front of them, “is Shea Stadium, where the Fab Four are due to perform what will be one of their final concerts.”

“The Beatles?  Seriously?” Rose asked with a grin, sounding genuinely surprised and delighted.

“Seriously,” he said with an eyebrow waggle.  “C’mon,” he added, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the crowd.

The concert was, of course, amazing, even despite the fact that they could barely hear the music over the screaming fans.  When they played _Help!_ , the Doctor felt a strange chord struck within him, and glanced down at Rose.  He realized that, despite all his claims of being fine on his own, the companions just being an odd little bonus, Rose was someone he had come to need in a very profound way.  She was…so completely unique, and totally unexpected.  It didn’t seem to matter where they were or what they were doing, Rose Tyler never failed to surprise him.  True, some moments with her managed to confuse him more than others…but he found himself oddly at peace about that, focusing instead on the moments she shone bright as the sun in his dark life.

It was a mistake, falling in love with a fragile and…time deficient human, but there it was.  Not that he could tell her that.  If she knew how he felt, she might leave him.  After all, he was an alien and a few centuries her senior.  That brought a whole new meaning to dirty old man.  Plus, he had…a lot of baggage.  Maybe she could deal with some emotional shrapnel now and then as a friend, but as…something else…probably not.

Although, she had kissed him.  Quite thoroughly.

But that presented problems in itself.  If she did…care about him, then it was all far more tragic.  Their mismatched lifespans would cause them both immeasurable pain.  He would have to watch her wither away in front of him, while she would have to age alone.  Then he would have to go on without her.  He’d have to do that eventually anyway, an idea which already hurt more than he cared to admit, but it would be so much harder if he had more to miss.

So she could never know.

He shook himself from these counter intuitive thoughts as the final song started, and then made his way out of the stadium with Rose clutching his arm and bouncing up and down excitedly.  He launched into a lecture about the history of the Beatles as they wandered the streets to find some food.  He explained to her that the band originally had five members, and that Ringo Starr, whose name was actually Richard Starkey, hadn’t been among them.

“Pete Best was the original drummer—“

“But not actually the best?” Rose asked with a tongue in teeth grin.

“Apparently not,” he said with a laugh as he followed her into a chippy.  “Stuart Sutcliffe was the bassist, but he left the band after their last tour in Hamburg because he fell in love with a young photographer.  He died about a year later of a brain aneurism.”

“Cheery,” Rose commented, pulling a face.

The lecture was paused as they put in their order for fish and chips, and resumed soon after they’d found a place to sit.

“One thing you might find interesting,” the Doctor said, spearing a chip and munching down on it.  “They favored suits during their major touring years, but when they first started at the Cavern, they sported leather jackets.”

“So your personal style is patterned after the evolution of the Beatles?” Rose asked.  “I’d hate to think what you’re going to wear next.”

“Mmm, yeah, I think I’ll avoid the hippie craze,” he said thoughtfully.  “Living through it was bad enough.  Although, at the time, I was wearing some strange stuff myself.”

“You mean other than the 18 foot long scarf?”

“Umhm,” he confirmed, chewing down on another chip.  “Back when I first got Bessie, the car, I was sporting an opera cape and very frilly cuffs.”  Rose stared at him for a second, and then burst out laughing.  “What?  I looked very dignified.”  This only seemed to make her laugh harder.  He finally gave in and laughed with her.

“So, why the Beatles?” Rose asked when they both finally calmed down.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, not exactly your average adventure stop,” Rose said reasonably.

“I like concerts,” he said with a frown.  She raised her eyebrows at him.  “Well, alright, if you would rather it be all running for our lives, that can be fun too.”

“I’m not complaining,” she put in quickly.  “I was just curious.”  She paused, examining a chip.  “Concert and chips.  That’s almost a normal date for you.”

“What do you mean ‘almost’?” he squeaked, even while his mind started alarms blaring at the word “date.”

“Well, I mean, it _is_ a concert that happened two full decades before I was born,” Rose said.  “That kind of takes away from the normalcy of it.”

“Right,” the Doctor said.  “Well, you could always go home to Mickey if you want something more normal,” he suggested lightly, even as he mentally kicked himself.

“Let’s see,” she said, looking away. “First date, you take me to the end of the world, and then make me pay for chips.  When I take you to meet my mother, you get slapped for making her think I was murdered and dead for a year and then we averted world war three with the future Prime Minister.  And then we go home for Christmas and you end up in a coma, waking up just in time to stop alien invaders and have Christmas turkey.”  She gave him another teasing smile as she looked back at him.  “I think I gave up normal a long time ago.”

“Glad to hear it,” he said with a grin.

_What the hell is wrong with you?_ He thought furiously. _You’re talking about dates and meeting her mother and going home with her for the holidays like you could have any kind of normal, functional human relationship with her!  Stop it!_

While he cast his mind around for _any_ other subject to talk about, he looked at Rose.  She was looking out the window, her fork dangling from the fingers of one hand while her chin rested on the other.  He glanced out the window to follow her gaze, and realized she was looking up at the stars.

 “Penny for your thoughts?” he asked quietly, clasping his elbows and leaning his forearms on the table.

“When I was little, I used to think the stars were just twinkle lights that were stuck to the sky,” she said in a dreamy voice, still looking outside.  “I thought if I could just reach out high enough, I could take one down, and it would shine for me forever.  I used to go up onto the roof and reach as high as I could.  But it was never high enough…could never quite get there.”  Her gaze shifted to him.  “Thanks for helping me reach the stars, Doctor,” she said softly.

He continued to watch her for a moment, seeing for a second the lonely little girl in the Powell Estate, reaching out for her dreams, feeling it resonate with his own vastly different but similarly lonely childhood.

“Rose Tyler, it is my pleasure,” he said sincerely.  He wished he could tell her that none of them shone as bright as her—his own personal shining star.


	37. Tooth and Claw, part 1

"What do you think of this?" Rose asked, getting up after pulling her boots on, showing off her dungaree skirt.  "Will it do?"

"In the late 1970s? You’d be better off in a bin bag," he said after a glance.  "Although, hold on, c’mere." He put down the CD he was holding and reached for something in his trouser pocket as well as his sonic screwdriver as Rose obediently stepped forward.  "Spin," he said, touching her shoulder lightly to emphasize his point.  She turned her back to him and felt him hook a finger around the chain at her neck, pulling it out from under her shirt.  He unclasped it with the sonic and reached around her to catch it deftly as it fell from her neck.

"What’re you doing with that?" she said, turning round again only to now look at his back.

"Patience, woman," he growled, making her giggle.  "You know, you can actually wear this outside your shirt," he said, fiddling with something.

"You’re not worried that someone you don’t want to have a key will see it?" she asked curiously.

"Nah, they’d have to know what it is first, and then they couldn’t get it off of you without cutting your head off, and for _that_ they’d have to get through me,” he said.  “Ah, there we are,” he added brightly, turning around again.  He leaned down and around to slip the chain back on her and clasp it without her turning her back to him.  She was suddenly very aware of how close he was as his breath ghosted over her cheek, and she shivered a little when his long fingers trailed over her collarbone along the line of the chain.  “Brilliant,” he said, his voice sounding a little husky before he coughed to clear his throat.  “Now the look is complete.”

She looked down and saw two new charms on the chain: a green crescent moon, and a star that shone like a diamond.

"Oh, Doctor…"

"You like them?" he asked, with a hesitant grin.

"I love them," she said, throwing her arms around his neck.  "They’re beautiful.  Thank you, Doctor."

"You’re more than welcome, Rose," he said hugging her back tightly.  "Right, 1979," he said cheerfully as he pulled away.  "Hold on, listen to this."

He grabbed the CD again and put it in the player.  Rose smiled when she heard _Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick_ start up.

"Ian Dury and the Blockheads," he said, wandering around the console again.  "Number One in 1979."

"You’re a Punk!" she exclaimed as he sang along, proclaiming happily about how good it was to be a lunatic.  "That’s what you are. A big old Punk with a bit of Rockabillly thrown in."

"Would you like to see him?" he asked nonchalantly.

Rose stopped for a second.  They never made it to the Ian Drury concert…wasn’t the point.  The point was, that was the first concert he’d offered to take her to.  But they’d gone to see the Beatles two weeks ago.  That trip had taken her completely by surprise, because it had never happened the first time she was with the Doctor.  She tucked the thought away to examine later.

"You’re starting to make a habit of this," she said finally.  "First the Beatles in ‘66, now Ian Drury in ‘79…who’s it going to be in the next decade?"

"The Proclaimers, obviously," he said with a grin.  "What else is a TARDIS for?"  They both walked around the console, staying on opposite sides.  "I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar…the first anti-gravity Olympics…Caesar crossing the Rubicon…or…" Rose leapt in surprise to hear his voice low in her ear; he’d sped up at some point and was standing directly behind her with his hands on her shoulders.  "Ian Drury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November, 1979. What do you think?"

"Sheffield it is!" she managed, craning her neck to look up at him.  He grinned and squeezed her shoulders before bounding to the other side of the console.

"Hold on tight," he warned happily.

He pulled a lever and they both fell forward into the console as the TARDIS shuddered and hurtled through the Vortex.  She made her way back to his side as he started banging on the console with a mallet in time to the music and yelling.  She yelled at him to stop while giggling, and just as he did, the TARDIS gave an almighty lurch, with accompanying disgruntled hums in Rose’s mind, and they both fell back onto the grating as the ship came to a stop, laughing hysterically.

"1979," the Doctor said happily as he stood up.  "Hell of a year!"

"Is it, though?" Rose asked, eyes twinkling as he pulled her up.  "You don’t have the best track record, after all."

"Oi!" the Doctor shouted, insulted.  "Make a girl lose one lousy year—“

"In which my mother thought I was dead," she reminded him.

“—and you never, ever live it down.”  He eyed her.  “Really, Rose, a little faith would be nice.”  She giggled at him, and he shook his head.  “As I was saying, 1979,” he continued pointedly, moving toward the doors and grabbing his coat.  “China invades Vietnam…The Muppet Movie! Love that film. Margaret Thatcher…urgh…Skylab falls to Earth…with a little help from me…nearly took off my thumb.” He stepped out of the doors backwards with Rose following.  “I like my thumb.  I need my thumb.  I’m very attached to…my thumb,” he finished as he noticed the soldiers suddenly surrounding them with guns raised.  “1879,” he realized, and shot Rose a dark look when she made a strangled noise, trying not to burst into laughter in the face of guns.  “Blimey, same difference.”

"Is not," she whispered.  "No Ian Drury for one."

"You will explain your presence," the soldier in front of them ordered in a Scottish accent before the Doctor could respond.  "And the nakedness of this girl."

"Are we in Scotland?" the Doctor asked with a remarkably good Scottish accent and a grin.  Rose looked down at herself a little self-consciously.

"How can you be ignorant of that?" the soldier asked, looking at them oddly.

"Oh, I’m—I’m dazed and confused," the Doctor said.  "I’ve been chasing this…this wee naked child over hill and over dale," he said, nodding at Rose. "In’t that right, ya…timorous beastie?"

"Ooch, aye!" she said, repeating the same terrible accent she’d used before.  "I’ve been oot and aboot."

"No, don’t do that," the Doctor said as he glanced at her.

"Hoots mon!" she said, again fighting laughter.

"No, really don’t," the Doctor warned.  "Really."

"Will you identify yourself, sir?" the soldier demanded impatiently.

"I’m Doctor James McCrimmon. From the…Township of Balamory. Eh…I have my credentials, if I may," he said, gesturing to his pocket.  The soldier nodded, and they both lowered their hands as the Doctor fished out the psychic paper.  "As you can see," he continued, flashing it at the soldiers, "a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself."

"Let them approach," said a regal, feminine voice from the carriage.

"I don’t think that’s wise, ma’am," the soldier said, still plainly suspicious.

"Let them approach," the voice repeated.

The Doctor gestured toward the carriage and raised his eyebrows.

"You will approach the carriage," the soldier said reluctantly.  "And show all due deference," he added in warning tone.  The Doctor snapped off a lazy salute and shot an eyebrow waggle at Rose as they walked toward the carriage.  Rose got a little thrill again when the door was opened to reveal the Queen.

"Rose, might I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria," the Doctor said proudly.  "Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."

"Rose Tyler, Ma’am," she said with a little curtsey.  "And my apologies…for being so naked."

"I’ve had five daughters," the Queen said.  "It’s nothing to me. But you, Doctor… show me these credentials."  The Doctor passed the psychic paper to her, and she studied it for a moment.  "Why didn’t you say so immediately?" she asked hurriedly.  "It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector."

"Does it? Yes, it does!" he said, trying to hide his surprise.  "Good! Good! Um…then let me ask—why is Your Majesty travelling by road when there’s a train all the way to Aberdeen?"

"A tree on the line," the Queen explained shortly.

"An accident?"

"I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland," the Queen replied, drawing herself up haughtily.  "Everything around me tends to be planned."

"An assassination attempt?"

"I’m quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun," she informed them.

"Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence," the soldier said behind them.  "We’ll send word ahead, he’ll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."

"This Doctor and his…timorous beastie will come with us," the Queen ordered.

"Yes, Ma’am," the soldier said, though he was clearly not happy about this.  "We’d better get moving—it’s almost nightfall."

"Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts," the Queen said with a slight smile. "Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!"

The Doctor and Rose shared a grin as the convoy once again started moving, with them following on foot behind the carriage.

"Are you sure they should stop there, though?" Rose asked before she could stop herself.  The Doctor glanced down at her.  "Well, anyone with an assassination plan would probably know of alternate routes the Queen would take, wouldn’t they?"

"Not a completely bad thought," the Doctor admitted.  "1879—she’s had…oh…six attempts on her life? But hopefully this Sir Robert will be a good sort…and it doesn’t pay to jump at shadows.  Well, usually…depends how many.  But I’ll tell you something else: we just met Queen Victoria!"

"I know!" Rose said, smiling delightedly despite her misgivings about the stop.

 ”What a laugh!”

"She was just sitting there!"

"Like a stamp."

"I want her to say ‘we are not amused’," Rose said in an affected accent.  She glanced up at him, and remembered the wager from before with a grin.  "I bet you five quid I can make her say it."

"Well, if I gambled on that, it’d be an abuse of my privileges of traveler in time," came the Doctor’s expected reply.

"…Ten quid?"

"Done."

Sir Robert was already outside waiting when they made their way into the estate, and quickly moved to greet the Queen as she exited the carriage.

"Sir Robert," she greeted after he’d bowed.  "My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?"

"She’s… indisposed, I’m afraid," he said, and Rose recognized the panicky look.  "She’s gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she’s taken the cook with her—the kitchens are barely stocked… I wouldn’t blame Your Majesty if you wanted to ride on."

Rose looked up at the Doctor, and saw him watching Sir Robert with his head cocked to one side before glancing down at her and raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, not at all!" the Queen replied cheerfully.  "I’ve had quite enough carriage exercise. And this is… charming, if rustic. It’s my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate," the Queen said, taking it in.  Rose felt her knees go weak at the sound of the name, and the Doctor quickly put an arm around her waist to steady her, giving her a questioning look.  She shook her head and stood up straighter.  "Now, shall we go inside?  And please excuse the naked girl," she added, ignoring Sir Robert’s reluctance to let her into the house.

"Sorry," Rose said weakly.

"She’s a feral child," the Doctor said, pulling his arm away and making a face.  "I bought her for sixpence in old London Town. It was her or the Elephant Man, so…"

"Thinks he’s funny but I’m so not amused," Rose said, looking pointedly at the Queen.  "What do you think, Ma’am?"

"It hardly matters," the Queen said haughtily before turning back to Sir Robert. "Shall we proceed?"

"So close," Rose whispered as they walked away, leaning close to the Doctor.  He smiled down at her and shook his head a little before looking up to see the box the soldiers were escorting into the house.

"What’s in there, then?" he asked.

"Property of the Crown," the captain replied.  "You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir."

The Doctor pulled a face at Rose while the captain issued orders to the other soldiers.

"Play nice with the authorities," Rose said as he led the way into the house.

"I am the authority," he scoffed, glancing back at the soldiers.  "But I’ll tell you what…I think we should watch Sir Robert a bit more carefully.  He definitely did not play the part of the gracious host very well, and to the Queen no less."

"Something’s rotten in the state of Scotland?"

"Or at Torchwood, to say the very least," he replied softly.

_You have no idea_ , Rose thought unhappily as they caught up with the Queen and Sir Robert entering the observatory.

"This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour," the Queen was saying to Sir Robert.

"All my father’s work," Sir Robert told her.  "Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession—he spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself."

"I wish I’d met him, I like him," the Doctor said with a smile.  "That thing’s beautiful—can I…?" he trailed off, gesturing to the telescope. 

"Help yourself," Sir Robert invited.

"What did he model it on?" the Doctor asked as he and Rose both moved forward to examine it.

"I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little…shall we say, eccentric," Sir Robert informed them, making the Doctor laugh.  "I wish now I’d spent more time with him. And listened to his stories."

"It’s a bit rubbish," the Doctor said suddenly, making Rose stop dead in her examination and grin, watching him.  "How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification’s gone right over the top, that’s stupid kind of a—"  He leaned close to Rose and whispered, "am I being rude again?"

"Yep," she said, popping the ‘p.’

"But it’s pretty!" he said expansively, turning back to Sir Robert, who looked a little bemused. "It’s very…pretty."  He glanced down at Rose as she put her arm through his and patted him fondly.  He smiled a little sheepishly, and put his hand over hers, keeping them linked.

"And the imagination of it should be applauded," the Queen told them.

"Anyone who dismisses stargazing as fanciful really isn’t amusing, is he, your Majesty?" she asked, intent on winning the bet, abuse of knowledge or not.

"This device surveys the infinite work of God," the Queen said, apparently agreeing, though Rose rolled her eyes when she refused to say the words.  The Doctor shook his head with a small smile breaking through.  "What could be finer? Sir Robert’s father was an example to us all. A polymath. Steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairytales."

"Stars and magic. I like him more and more," the Doctor said, wandering away from Rose to examine the telescope more.

"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company," the Queen said with a small smile before turning to Rose.  "Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg."

"That’s Bavaria," the Doctor said softly in her ear. She tried not to shiver.

"When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported," the Queen told Sir Robert.

"So, what’s this wolf, then?" the Doctor asked.

"It’s just a story," Sir Robert said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Then tell it," the Doctor urged.

Sir Robert glanced nervously back at the staff.  “It’s said that—”

"Excuse me, sir," the manservant interrupted.  "Perhaps her Majesty’s party could repair to their rooms. It’s almost dark."

"Of course. Yes, of course," Sir Robert said hurriedly.

"And then supper. And…could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler?" she asked.  "I’m tired of nakedness."

"It’s not amusing, is it?" Rose asked pointedly, trying to ignore the way the Doctor had eyed her surreptitiously. The Queen glanced at her, but apparently did not see the question worthy of an answer and quickly turned back to Sir Robert.

"Never gonna happen," the Doctor muttered to her with a smile while the Queen made plans for supper, and she poked him in the chest.

"And talk some more of this wolf," the Queen was saying when they tuned back into the conversation.  "After all… there is a full moon tonight."

"So there is, Ma’am," Sir Robert said nervously.

oOoOo

Rose closed the door quickly after she was led to her room, and moved immediately to the wardrobe.

"Right, out you come," she said as she opened the door, startling the maid inside.  "Come on, it’s alright, I’m not with the creepy monks."

The maid stepped out hesitantly, staring at her.  “How did you know I was there, miss?”

"Keen observational skills," Rose said dismissively.  "What was your name?"

"Flora, miss."

"Right, Flora, we need to find where the others are being kept," she said quickly.  "And we need to find the Doctor.  He can help."

"But…they’ve taken over the house, miss," Flora stammered.  "They’re everywhere."

"We’ll see," she replied.  "Come on."

They slipped quietly out of the room, keeping to the shadows.  They got to the main corridor in time to see the soldier drop, a mug clattering out of his hand.

"Oh, miss, I did tell you," Flora said in a frightened voice.

Rose shushed her.  “He’s not dead, come on.”

They had only made it a little further before she heard Flora give a frightened squeak behind her.  Rose immediately dropped into a fighting crouch and whirled around, elbows out, and smiled a little when she felt one connect with an abdomen.  Her fist shot out, catching the man across the eye before he had a chance to recover, but even has his head swung back, his hand came up at lightning speed to grab her wrist, using her momentum to pull her forward.  She slammed her head back into his nose, connecting with a satisfying crunch and he cursed as he slammed her forward into the wall.  Her head connected hard and everything went black.

oOoOo

_Wake up, my Wolf!_

Rose’s eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright.  Someone was knocked back by her sudden motion.  She looked around and saw that she was chained up once again, surrounded by frightened faces. 

She turned her gaze to the cage.  She stood up slowly and took a few steps toward it.

"Don’t, child," the Lady Isobel tried to tell her, but Rose waved a hand back at her.

"I know you’re not from Earth," she said to the creature in a low voice.  "I know you’re not human.  You’re a wolf inside it all.  But I’m telling you right now, you’re not getting what you came here for.  I won’t let you, and neither will the Doctor."

"Intelligence…" the creature murmured in a sing song voice.  "In one so young."

"Not as young as I look, mate.  Neither are you."

The creature slammed up against the bars.  “You’ve seen it too!  There’s something about the wolf in you as well!”

"Yeah, there is, and I’ll tell you what, I’m bigger and badder than you could ever _hope_ of being.” 


	38. Tooth and Claw, part 2

_"Yeah, there is, and I’ll tell you what, I’m bigger and badder than you could ever hope of being."_

She turned to the others the monks opened the doors.  “Come on, you lot, stand up.  Don’t look at it, stand up.  Count of three, we’re gonna pull,” she instructed as she heard the growling and crunching sounds start behind her.  “All of you, you too, your ladyship, come on.”

They followed her instructions reluctantly, still staring at her a bit oddly, but at least they followed them.  She counted off the pulls as the creature continued to transform in front of them.  The Doctor and Sir Robert burst in just as they pulled the chain from the wall.

"Where the hell have you been?" she yelled at the Doctor.  He looked a little shocked when he saw her, but quickly whirled around to the creature.

"Oh, you are beautiful," he breathed.

"Little help!" she called to him.

He whirled again and yelled for everyone to get out.  Rose helped herd everyone out the door, and called out to him when she saw him once again, staring at the creature.  He glanced at her, and his face changed again before he darted after her out the door, using his sonic on the lock.

Once they got to the room at the end of the corridor, the Doctor set to work freeing everyone of their manacles.  He got to Rose last.

"Right," he said as Lady Isobel left with the maids.  "It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths," he said rapid fire. "Did it say what it wanted?"

"The Queen," she replied tersely.

"Right, of course," he said with an exasperated expression.  His eyes raised to her hairline, and he opened his mouth to say something else just as they heard the door bang open in the corridor.  The Doctor moved quickly to the corridor, motioning for Rose to stay inside the room.  He stayed out there less than a minute before he was sprinting back into the room and grabbing her hand to pull her behind the guns.  He held his arm fast around her waist and braced her against his chest as they fired in front of them at the massive wolf creature.

"All right, you men, we should retreat upstairs," the Doctor said quickly when the wolf had run off.  "Come with me."

"I’ll not retreat," the steward said proudly.  "The battle’s done. There’s no creature on God’s Earth that could survive such an assault."

"I’m telling you, come upstairs!" the Doctor shouted angrily.

"And I’m telling you, sir, that I will sleep well tonight with that thing’s hide upon my wall," the steward retorted.  He crossed the room to the door to check on the wolf as the Doctor watched, his whole body radiating tension.  The steward strode back, seeing nothing, and proclaiming that it must have crawled away to die before being pulled up through the ceiling by the wolf.

"There’s nothing we can do!" the Doctor shouted as the man was mauled.  He grabbed Rose and pulled her away to another corridor with Sir Robert, leaving behind the men who had frozen on the spot, staring at their fallen friend.  Rose heard the shouts and gunfire and snarling behind them and hated herself for running away, even if the Doctor was right.

They found themselves at the foot of the stairwell, Sir Robert calling for the Queen, who quickly emerged at the top while the Doctor dashed off to check the door.

"Sir Robert! What’s happening?" the Queen asked as she descended the stairs.  "I heard such terrible noises."

"Your Majesty, we’ve got to get out," Sir Robert said urgently.  "But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?"

"Captain Reynolds disposed of him," the Queen replied.

"The front door’s no good, it’s been boarded shut," the Doctor informed them as he came back into the room.  "Pardon me, Your Majesty—you’ll have to leg it out of a window."

"You really think they’ll let us out of a window?" Rose asked.  "They’ve boarded up the doors, chances are they want us to stay inside."

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow at her, then looked back at the window.  They both scuttled over to it, keeping low, then peaked over the sill.  Sure enough, there was the line of monks with guns standing guard, watching the window carefully.

"Well done, Rose," he said softly before turning to Sir Robert and the Queen again.  "I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside."

"Do they know who I am?" the Queen demanded haughtily.

"Of course…that’s sort of the point," Rose said.  "They want the wolf on the throne."

"Now, stop this talk," the Queen scolded.  "There can’t be an actual wolf."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than a howling rang through the house.  They all spun around and ran out of the room to see the wolf battering on the door.

"We should be running,” Rose said urgently.

"Yeah, guess I left the silver bullets in the other coat," the Doctor quipped before turning to the Queen.  "Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog," he said, jogging in place to demonstrate.  "Good for the health.  Come on!"  He took the Queen’s hand and led her up the stairs, Rose and Sir Robert close behind.  They hadn’t gone far when they heard the wolf finally barge through the door and bound up the stairs behind them.  All four put on an extra burst of speed, the Doctor shouting at them as they reached the top of the stairs and began running through the corridors, the wolf hot on their trail.

The Doctor reached for her as the wolf got close, pulling her along faster, and then to the side as Captain Reynolds appeared with a gun, shooting the wolf and sending it reeling back along the corridor.  They darted around the corner, panting slightly.

"I’ll take this position and hold it," the Captain said.  "You keep moving, for God’s sake! Your Majesty—I went to look for the property, it was taken. The chest was empty."

"I have it," the Queen assured him.  "It’s safe."

"Then remove yourself, Ma’am," he urged her.  "Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty’s Protector. And you, Sir Robert—you’re a traitor to the crown," he added as he cocked his gun and prepared to face the beast again.

"Bullets can’t stop it!" cried the Doctor.

"They’ll buy you time," the captain said. "Now, run!"

"Please don’t do this," Rose said unhappily.

"I’ll do my duty to Queen and country," the captain replied.  "You do yours and run."

She finally relented, taking off down the corridor after the other three.  They ran into the library, and Rose stopped again outside the door, unable to tear her eyes from the figure of Captain Reynolds shooting at the beast.  Her hands flew to her mouth as the beast attacked, and then the Doctor had her by the waist and was pulling her into the library.  She shook herself free of the horror to help barricade the door.

"Wait a minute, shh, shh, wait a minute…" the Doctor said, listening intently.  The wolf howled, and then was silent.  "It’s stopped."  He climbed up onto the barricade to listen at the door, then turned to them after a moment, saying, "It’s gone."

Rose shushed him, looking around as they heard the wolf make his way around the room.

"Is this the only door?" whispered the Doctor.

"Yes," Sir Robert confirmed, then, "No!"

He and the Doctor dashed to the other side of the room where they barricaded the other door shut.  Rose shushed them again as they all looked around uneasily.

"Something inside this room’s stopping it," she said.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked, looking around.  "Why can’t it get in?"

“Is it really a werewolf, though?” Rose asked hesitantly.

“Nah,” he said, turning to her.  “Well, sort of.  More or less what you’d know as a werewolf, but really it’s more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform.”  He looked at her more closely and stepped nearer, grasping her upper arms.  “You alright?”

"Bit of a headache, but alright, yeah," she said.  She didn’t miss the way his eyes once again flashed to her hairline.

"I’m sorry, Ma’am," Sir Robert said before the Doctor had another chance to speak.  "It’s all my fault. I should’ve sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong, I… thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?"

"Well, they were bald, athletic…your wife’s away," the Doctor noted.  "I just thought you were happy."  Rose nudged an elbow in his side, which he returned immediately, making her smile.

"Do you think this funny?" the Queen demanded.

"No, Ma’am, I’m sorry," Rose said quickly with a wince, before casting a dark look at the Doctor, who’s bowed head hid his smile.

"And you, _Doctor,_ should I trust you, sir?” she demanded.  “You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?”

"Oh…right," the Doctor said, realizing suddenly that he had dropped the Scottish accent.  "Sorry—“

"I’ll not have it," she interrupted.  "No, sir—not you, not that thing, none of it. This is not my world."

"Doctor," Rose asked, catching sight of the door again.  "What’s that carving of?"

"Mistletoe," he said, moving to peer at it through the barricade.  "Sir Robert, did you father put that there?"

"I don’t know, I suppose," Sir Robert replied, bemused.

"On the other door, too…a carving wouldn’t be enough…I wonder…" The Doctor climbed on the barricade again and licked the wood, making Rose roll her eyes.  "Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe," he said, climbing back down.  "It’s been worked into the wood like a varnish! How clever was your dad? I love him!  Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."

"And the wolf’s allergic to it?" Rose asked.

"Or it thinks it is," he replied.  "The monky monk monks need a way of controlling the wolf, maybe they trained it to react against certain things."

"Nevertheless, that creature won’t give up, Doctor," Sir Robert said.  "And we still don’t possess an actual weapon."

"Oh, your father got all the brains, didn’t he?" the Doctor replied derisively.

"Being rude again," Rose chided.

"Yeah? Good. I meant that one," he said as he strode towards the bookshelves.  "You want weapons? We’re in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world.  This room’s the greatest arsenal we could have," he said as he put on his brainy specs.  "Arm yourself."

They searched frantically through the books.  Only Rose knew what they were looking for, and she was thrilled when heard the Doctor’s excited noise before he hopped off the ladder.

"Look what your old dad found," he said, putting the book on the table. "Something fell to Earth."

Rose and Sir Robert examined the illustration in the book.

"A spaceship?" she asked.

"A shooting star," Sir Robert said, reading out the caption.  "That’s the Glen of Saint Catherine, just by the monastery."

"It needs a host," Rose said.  "So, what, it’s been growing over the generations?"

"Adapting, anyway," the Doctor said. “It survived through the humans. Host after host after host."

"But why does it want the throne?" Sir Robert asked.

“Accelerate the Victorian Age,” the Doctor said.  ”Starships and missiles fueled by coal and driven by steam…leaving history devastated in its wake.”

"Sir Robert!  If I am to die here—“

"Don’t say that, Your Majesty," Sir Robert interrupted as he walked toward her.

"I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me," she said proudly.  "But that’s no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself," she said, opening her bag.

"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables," the Doctor noted from his place at the table.

"Thank you for your opinion," the Queen said with a withering glance.  "But there is nothing more valuable than this."

Rose gasped as the Queen took the Koh-I-Noor from her bag and held it out on display in the palm of her hand.

"The Koh-I-Noor," she breathed.

"The greatest diamond in the world," the Doctor said as they moved forward for a closer look.

"Given to me as the spoils of war," the Queen said.  "Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die."

"Well, that’s true of anything if you own it long enough," the Doctor said.  "Can I…?" he asked, holding his hand out.  The Queen handed it over after a brief hesitation.  He pushed his specs down to look at it better.  "That is so beautiful."

"How much is that worth?" Rose asked.

"They say…the wages of the entire planet for a whole week," he said with a little squeak at the end.

"Good job my mum’s not here," Rose said as she examined it.  "She’d be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing."

"And she’d win," the Doctor said.  Rose laughed, thinking of the glittering gems her mother had in the other world that Pete had lavished on her.  Not even those could compare to the enormous diamond in front of her.

"Why do you travel with it?" the Doctor asked, ignoring Sir Robert’s musings about the wolf.

"My annual pilgrimage," the Queen replied.  "I’m taking it to Helier and Carew. The Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting."

"Oh, but it’s perfect," Rose said sadly.

"My late husband never thought so," the Queen said.

"Now, there’s a fact," the Doctor said, pulling off his specs.  "Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting."

"He always said…the shine was not quite right," the Queen said fondly.  "But he died with it still unfinished."

"Unfinished…oh, yes!" the Doctor cried as he tossed the diamond back to the Queen.  "There’s a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father’s research—your husband, Ma’am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond—hold on, hold on—“ He spoke quickly, ruffling his hair as he thought out loud, working it all out.  Rose watched him with a happy smile.  She loved watching her Doctor pull all the pieces together out of nothing.  "All these separate things, they’re not separate at all, they’re connected! Oh, my head, my head! What if…this house, it’s a trap for you, is that right, Ma’am?"

"Obviously," the Queen said, baffled by his eagerness.

"At least, that’s what the wolf intended," the Doctor said.  "But! What if there’s a trap inside the trap?"

"Explain yourself, Doctor."

"What if his father and your husband weren’t just telling each other stories?" he asked.  "They dared to imagine all this was true. And they planned against it. Laying the real trap not for you… but for the wolf."

"That wolf there?" Rose asked as plaster fell from the ceiling.  The other three looked up to the wolf walking over the glass dome above their heads.

"Yeah…that’s the one," the Doctor said.  The glass started to crack, and he shouted for them to get out, already sprinting for the door.  They pulled down the barricade just as the wolf crashed down into the room, and ran out into the corridor, the Doctor shutting the doors behind them.

"Gotta get to the observatory!" he shouted as they careened around a corner.

Rose caught sight of the wolf just behind her and froze.  The Doctor shouted her name and grabbed her by the waist just as Lady Isobel threw a pan full of water at the wolf, which howled and bounded away.

"Good shot!" he said, still keeping a firm hold on Rose.

"It was mistletoe!" Lady Isobel told them.

The Doctor nodded and, taking Rose’s hand, followed the wolf to the corner again.

"Doctor, I’m alright," Rose said, feeling his hand tight around hers.

"I know that," he said without looking at her, but his grip didn’t loosen any as he turned back to Sir Robert and the Queen.  "Come on!"

"The observatory’s this way!" cried Sir Robert as they started running down the corridor again, and they sprinted up the central staircase.  Rose heard the wolf below them start up the chase again, and was grateful when they finally reached the observatory.

"No mistletoe on these doors, your father wanted the wolf to get inside," the Doctor said, finally letting go of Rose’s hand. "I just need time! Is there any way of barricading this?"

"Just do your work and I’ll defend it," Sir Robert told him.

"If we could bind them shut with rope or something," the Doctor said, ignoring him.

"I said I’d find you time, sir," Sir Robert said with a determined expression.

"But you can’t!" Rose cried.  They’d lost enough people today.  There had to be someone who could survive.  "It’ll kill you!"

"Then I’ll die protecting the Queen," he said, "and my wife can remember me with honor.  Now get inside."

"Good man," the Doctor said after another second’s hesitation, closing the doors behind Sir Robert before turning to the Queen.  "Your Majesty, the diamond," he said, holding out his hand.

"For what purpose?"

"The purpose it was designed for," he told her.  The Queen handed it over reluctantly, and the Doctor called for Rose to follow him to the wheel beside the telescope.  "Lift it! Come on!"

They struggled with the wheel, and the telescope slowly began to rise toward the moon.  They shared a look when they heard Sir Robert’s screams as the wolf found him.  The Doctor looked away first, pulling on the wheel with new determination.  The Doctor might not have any choice who was willing to sacrifice themselves, but he could still do his damndest to make sure they didn’t do so in vain.

"It’s not a telescope, is it?" Rose asked as they struggled.

"It’s a light chamber," he explained.  "It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We’ve just got to power it up!"

When they finally got it properly aligned with the moon, they stepped away from the gears as the moonlight bounced off the prisms inside and made the thing glow, spewing light out of the end.  The wolf broke through the doors and advanced on the Queen, and the Doctor dove to the floor, throwing the Koh-I-Noor into the beam of light, causing it to refract directly into the wolf.  It floated into the air, and shrank into the host form.

"Make it brighter," said the voice of the young man.  "Let me go."

The Doctor walked over to the light chamber slowly and turned a dial, making the light brighter.  There was a final howl, and the form disappeared, along with the light.  Rose was still tense, watching the Queen, who was staring intently at her wrist.  Rose groaned.  She couldn’t even change _that_?

"Your Majesty?" the Doctor asked, noticing her after he’d stooped to retrieve the diamond.  "Did it bite you?"

"No, it’s…it’s a cut," the Queen stammered, still examining her wrist.

"If that thing bit you—“ Rose started as the Doctor walked toward the Queen.

"It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart," the Queen said, cutting Rose off.

"Let me see," the Doctor said in concern.

"It is nothing," she said, pulling her hand away sharply.  The Doctor continued to stare at her.  "My diamond, sir," she said, holding out her other hand.  The Doctor handed it to her with some reluctance, clearly still not believing her.  "I believe that now, we should repair to our rooms to recover until daybreak."  She left without another word.

Rose shared a look with the Doctor, but neither commented.  She started to leave, but the Doctor stopped her, holding onto her arm.

"We need to tell Lady Isobel and the others that the wolf’s gone," she said.

"I know," he said softly, and once again his eyes skimmed her hairline.  "But first you need to tell me what happened to you."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, raising her hand to her head, and wincing as her fingers connected with a sore spot.

"That," he said, raising his eyebrows.  "You’ve got a fairly bad bruise on your head.  Want to tell me how that happened?"

"Bit of a run in between a monk and a wall," she explained, remembering the fight earlier.

"Really? How’d you manage that?" he asked, stepping closer and pulling out his sonic screwdriver.

"Bit of a disagreement about bondage," she quipped as he worked.  "Think this is bad, you should see the other guy."

"Oh, I’d like to," he said darkly.  He looked down into her eyes intensely for a second before he stepped away.  "Should help.  Ever the jeopardy friendly one."

"Gotta find a way to leave my mark," she said with a grin.

"Already done," he said, cupping her cheek with a hand.  "You can stop with the peril now."

oOoOo

As morning broke over the Torchwood Estate, the Doctor and Rose knelt before Queen Victoria.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee: Sir Doctor of TARDIS," the Queen said, tapping his shoulders with the sword  before turning to Rose.  "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State," she continued, repeating the action.  "I dub the: Dame Rose of the Powell Estate.  You may stand."

"Many thanks, Ma’am," the Doctor said genuinely.

"Thanks," Rose said quietly.

"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving a message from the great beyond," the Doctor said.  "I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He’s protecting you even now Ma’am, even from beyond the grave."

"Indeed," the Queen said.  "Then you may think on this, also: that I am not amused."  The Doctor groaned, and Rose nudged him with an elbow.  "Not remotely amused.  And henceforth… I banish you."

The Doctor and Rose both stared at her.  Rose was thinking quickly.  Torchwood Estate…after this, the Queen would name it the Torchwood Institute…

"I’m sorry..?" the Doctor asked, stunned.

"I rewarded you, Sir Doctor. And now you are exiled from this empire, never to return. I don’t know what you are, the two of you, or where you’re from, but I know that you consort with stars and magic and think it fun," she said.

"But you said yourself that being versed in both is to be commendable," Rose burst out.  The Doctor’s head whipped around to stare at her.  "I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, but it was the Doctor’s ability to understand both that saved your life last night."

"Your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death and I will not allow it!" the Queen spat out.

"Oh, my god, you can’t just not _allow_ these things to exist!” Rose said.  “It doesn’t work that way.  The terrible things exist, but that doesn’t mean you make an enemy out of the one person who stands a fighting chance against them just because you refuse to understand it!”

"I believe you have forgotten with whom you are speaking, child," the Queen put in angrily.  "I demand that you leave these shores.  You will reflect, I hope, on how you managed to stray so far from all that is good. And how much longer you will survive this… terrible life.  Now leave my world. And never return."

oOoOo

Rose walked along with the Doctor as he babbled on about the Queen’s mysterious case of hemophilia, her thoughts far away.  The way the Queen had asked how long they could survive in the life they led niggled at her, even more so now that she had confirmation that this was where it had all started.  They had inadvertently set in motion the events that would threaten to rip them apart, and she hadn’t been able to stop it.  She shivered as the Doctor sent them spinning away into the Vortex again. 

He looked over at her with a small smile playing on his lips.  “I can’t believe you actually argued with Queen Victoria for my honor.”

“Well someone had to,” she said with a sigh.  “And really, she’d already banished us.  Why not get a few last words in?”

He grinned at her and giggled.  “And you say _I’m_ bad with authority.”

She chuckled, then she threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.  He held her close after a surprised laugh.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“Just…glad to be back,” she said.  She took a breath to collect herself and pulled back.  “So…Ian Drury?  You still owe me a concert.  AND ten quid.”

He beamed down at her.  “Rose Tyler, it would be my pleasure.”  He released her to play the CD again and send them whirring away, hopefully to the correct year this time.  Rose pushed thoughts of Torchwood away, intent on enjoying the time she could.  That battle would come soon enough.


	39. Shatterpoint

_The man who had been the Doctor looked out across the burning land to the cracked dome encasing the Citadel.  He heard the cries and screams from his enemies and friends alike as everything became engulfed in flames.  Around him stood a ring of figures, each one recognizable as someone who had travelled with him at some point.  They wore identical expressions of accusation, disgust, and judgment._

_“It had to be done!” he screamed.  “If either of them won, the whole of creation would have lost!”_

_They made no response, but continued to stare him down as he sank to his knees, crying out and clutching his head against the mental screams of anguish from his fellow Time Lords as they burned._

_Then SHE stood before him, glowing with a golden fire all her own.  Her eyes blazed into his as he looked up._

_“Rose, no!  You can’t stop this!” he yelled, jumping to his feet._

_“I want you safe, my Doctor,” she said, placing a hand on his cheek before exploding into millions of tiny golden particles._

_“NO! ROSE!”_

“DOCTOR!”

He sat bolt upright in bed, eyes still seeing the burnt orange sky filled with smoke behind the cracked dome.  He slowly became aware of the voice calling his name softly and the soft hand on his cheek.

“Doctor, it’s alright, it was a dream,” the voice said softly.  “You’re here, you’re safe, Doctor, it’s alright.”

Chest still heaving, he looked up into Rose’s concerned eyes.  “Rose,” he whispered hoarsely before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tightly to him.  He clung to her as she continued to whisper soothingly in his ear and stroke his head gently.  Slowly, he began to calm down, and breathing became easier as his hammering hearts slowed to a more normal rate.  She pulled away slightly, but only to look down at him, brushing the hair from his forehead before caressing his cheek again.  He put a hand over hers and leaned into her touch.

“C’mon,” she said after another moment, pulling him to his feet.  “This calls for tea.”

He followed her shakily into the kitchen and collapsed into a chair as she set about preparing the tea.  She was quiet while she worked, and the Doctor leaned his elbows on the table, hands over his face, as he tried to block out the dream completely. He didn’t look up again until he heard her put a mug down in front of him and sit next to him.  He sighed heavily and took the mug, drinking deeply of the now very sweet tea he loved and she made perfectly.

“So, Sir Doctor,” she said.  “You wanna tell me about it?”

He looked at her for a moment, then shook his head as he looked back down at his tea as he placed it back on the table.  “You really shouldn’t call me that,” he said quietly.

“Why not?” she asked curiously.

“Knights are heroes,” he told her.  “I’m not a hero.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Even good old Vicky knew that,” he said with a bitter smile.  “I’ve strayed from all that is good, right?”

“You really believe that, don’t you?” she said, her voice a mix of surprise and sympathy.

“Rose…” he trailed off before scrubbing a hand down his face and leaning back.  “The things I’ve told you about my past, they barely scratch the surface.  There’s so much more, so many mistakes, so many ways I’ve hurt and destroyed people around me.”

“So tell me,” she urged softly.  He shook his head, his eyes widening.   “Doctor, I’ve seen you do amazing things.  What could be so bad that would keep you from seeing what an incredible person you are?”

He laughed bitterly.  “I destroyed my entire species, for one,” he reminded her.

“You had to do that,” she said.  “That’s what you said.  That had to happen to save the rest of the universe.”

“But it was me who decided to end it,” he insisted, needing her to understand. “It was me who stood by while the rest burned, and it was me who ran away.”

She looked at him steadily.  “What else?”

How the hell did she do that?  For anyone else, destruction of his home world would have been enough to convince a person that he was no hero by any means, and yet, she was still sitting there waiting for proof that he was the monster he said he was.

“Fine,” he finally said, anger rising to hide his confusion.  “You want to know?  Fine.  Long before the war, long before I burned my entire planet, I inflicted plenty of damage.  Remember Barbara and Ian?  They never wanted to travel with me—I took them.  They found their way into the TARDIS, and I flew off, in all my arrogance and superiority.  I took them away from everything they knew simply because I could, and they resorted to DALEK technology to get away.  And Susan?  She didn’t just fall in love.  I abandoned her.  She called for me, and I left.  My own granddaughter.  Katarina sacrificed herself for me because she thought I was a god.  Dodo’s mind was broken simply because of her connection to me.  Zoe and Jamie had their memories of me and everything they had accomplished wiped.   Adric went down with a ship he never should have been on because I couldn’t get to him in time.  Peri…Peri is the Schrödinger companion,” he said with a bitter laugh.  Rose’s eyes had widened in alarm during his tirade, but he didn’t care.  “She could be married to a barbarian, or she could have died a long time ago.  I never bothered to check.  Tegan was completely traumatized; she couldn’t even face getting back into the TARDIS.  Even Sarah Jane got nothing from me in the end but a promise to never forget her before I took off and never looked back.  And that’s just naming a few.” He jumped up and began pacing the length of the kitchen.  “That’s all before the War, before I made the choice to destroy an entire planet and countless of other species that were within the blast zone for the sake of the rest of the universe, before I stood by while they all screamed and burned, my own people, my own _family_.  The people who haven’t died because of me have had their lives destroyed by knowing me.  That, Rose Tyler,” he said, whipping around and facing her, his whole body vibrating, “that is who I am.  Still think I’m a hero?”

He watched her, hands clenched at his sides.  She stood up slowly, her face both thoughtful and concerned.  She approached him slowly, like someone would a scared animal, stopping only when she was directly in front of him.  She put a hand on his chest, right between his hearts, and looked up into his eyes.

“I forgive you,” she said quietly.

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped.  “Don’t,” he said hoarsely, backing away from her.  “Don’t do that.”

“Someone’s got to,” she said, following him until he hit the wall and couldn’t move.  “You can’t forgive yourself yet, but I can.  I forgive you, Doctor, and someday, I hope you’ll come to terms with that.”  He swallowed back the tears that were suddenly burning his eyes.  “Doctor, I know how much your past hurts you, all the time,” she continued softly, looking intently into his eyes.  “But how many people have come in contact with you that ended up so much better for it?  What about Jo and her hippie?  They might never have met if you hadn’t been the one to teach her that she had the strength to stand up for her convictions.  And you left Susan because you knew she’d never leave you, and she deserved her chance at love.  And Ian and Barbara loved the travels…you know it as much as I do.  What other schoolteachers can say they had been knighted by Richard the Lionheart or worshipped as a goddess by the Aztecs?  Or how about how completely lost the Brigadier would have been a million times if it hadn’t been for you?  And I’d be willing to bet that Sarah Jane is still out there too, investigating everything she probably shouldn’t, and never once forgetting you either.  That’s not even counting all the billions of lives that you’ve saved, over and over again, just because you were there and you could.  You’ve saved the whole universe more times than some people even leave the town they were born in.

“I know how guilty you feel for every mistake you’ve made and every fight you’ve lost.  I’m not going to dismiss that or try to tell you that you shouldn’t feel that way.  But you can’t let that keep you from seeing the good you’ve done, either.

“And yes, I still think you’re a hero.  A hero isn’t someone who has no faults, who never makes mistakes.  A hero is someone who stands up while everyone else bows, who does the right thing no matter how painful the cost, who faces down the darkness…even when it’s his own.”

“Rose, I…” he floundered, completely at a loss for how to respond to her.  He had expected her to cry, or yell, to recoil in disgust and shame and demand to go home.  But then, Rose Tyler never did do what he expected.  Instead, she was standing in front of him, looking at his soul laid bare, offering forgiveness that he could never deserve.  Something inside him shattered, and he slid down the wall to the floor, sobs of pain and regret and anger and bitterness that had been building for centuries bursting forth.  Rose sank to the floor next to him, wrapping her arms around him while he wept.

oOoOo

It was a long time before the Doctor was calm again.  When the tears eventually stopped, Rose got to her feet only to kneel beside him again a moment later as she handed him a cool, damp flannel.  He took it and scrubbed it over his face and sore eyes before balling it up in one fist and tossing it onto a counter.  He rested his arms on his bent knees and let his head fall back against the wall as he looked back at Rose.  For some reason he doubted he’d ever understand, she was still here.  She was still here, and he could breathe better in this moment than he had in…centuries.  All because of this tiny little pink and yellow human who was, apparently, absolutely fearless.  She still thought he was a hero, and the way that she was looking back at him now, he could almost believe her.

“I’m never going to be your knight in shining armor,” he said finally.  “I’m too tarnished.  Have been for a long time.”

“Who needs a knight in shining armor?” she asked with a smirk.  “I’ll take a mad man in a box any day.”

“Fair enough,” he said with a quiet laugh, reaching up to brush a lock of hair out of her face.  He hesitated, then ran his hand to the back of her head and pulled her closer.  He kissed her gently, then caressed her lip with his tongue. She immediately responded in kind, their lips moving against each other softly while their tongues danced slowly and leisurely.  When he finally pulled away, he kept her close, resting his forehead against hers.  “I’m so glad I met you,” he whispered, his words echoing back from a dungeon in Cardiff, but meaning so, so much more.

“Me too,” she said quietly.  She sat with him for another moment, and then brightened.  “Now, we need some cheering up.  Let’s go make fun of the History Channel,” she said with grin, her tongue poking out from her teeth.

“You’re on,” he said with a grin, getting to his feet and pulling her with him.

He slipped an arm around her shoulders as they walked to the media room, and he ignored the warring voices in the back of his head.  He ignored the one that was calling him an idiot and screaming at him that he was playing with fire every time he touched the girl because he hated it.  He ignored the one that was urging him on, telling him that what he could have with her was something he’d never had before, something he desperately wanted and needed, because it scared the hell out of him.


	40. School Reunion, part 1

_Two days_ , Rose thought furiously.  They’d been here two bloody days, and regardless of what was changing with the Doctor, she had STILL ended up a bleeding dinner lady.  Part of her realized, quite reasonably, that this was for the best, because it was less likely that she’d have a reason to know about the oil if she wasn’t employed in the kitchen, but she was choosing to ignore reason for the moment.

The one bright spot she had to look forward to was seeing Sarah Jane again.  Rose had sincerely liked the older woman after she’d gotten over her pettiness, and genuinely respected her now that she had heard some of the other stories about her from the Doctor.

"Food service starting shortly," called one of the other dinner ladies, pulling Rose from her thoughts.

"Oh, great," she muttered.  "Bloody fantastic.  _Molto bene_ ,” she added with dripping sarcasm as she made her way to her station. 

The line started and progressed until Rose looked up to see the Doctor smirking at her.  She glared at him, but he only smiled wider as he sauntered away.  “Bloody aliens,” she muttered.  As soon as she got a chance to duck away, she grabbed a towel and made to clean off the tables while covertly talking to the Doctor.

"Two days," she said as she approached him.

"Sorry, could you just—there’s a bit of gravy," he said pointing at the table with a smirk.  "No, no—just there," he said, gesturing with his fork when she missed the spot.  Rose rubbed the spot with a vengeance, and he chuckled.

"Two days, we’ve been here," she said.

"Blame your boyfriend, he’s the one who put us onto this," he said, then laughed out loud when she rolled her eyes at his now purposely annoying use of the word "boyfriend" in connection to Mickey. "Well…anyway, he was right. Boy in class this morning—got knowledge way beyond planet Earth."

"What’d you think of the chips?" she asked, snagging one.  Even knowing what it was, she couldn’t help loving them.

"Yeah, they’re a bit…different," he said, grimacing slightly.

"I think they’re gorgeous," she said honestly, even while feeling the TARDIS tutting away in the back of her head.  "Wish I had school dinners like this."

"It’s very well behaved, this place," the Doctor said, looking around as Rose sat down.  "I thought there’d be happy-slapping hoodies. Happy-slapping hoodies with ASBOs. Happy-slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones.  Yeah? Yeah? Oh, yeah! Don’t tell me I don’t fit in," he said with a grin.

"Oh, yeah, regular chameleon you are," Rose said with a smirk.  "But if what you’re saying is true, even Susan could have blended in here."

"Too right," he said with a sniff as another dinner lady approached.

"You are not permitted to leave your station during a sitting," she said, scolding Rose.

"I was just talking to this teacher," Rose said, standing up.

"Hello!" the Doctor said happily.

"Doesn’t like the chips," she said in a stage whisper.

"The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance," the dinner lady replied proudly.  "Now, get back to work."

"See? This is me," Rose said, gesturing down at her uniform as she walked away.  "Dinner lady."

"I’ll have the crumble," the Doctor called after her.

"I’m so gonna kill you," she called back over her shoulder.

It wasn’t until Rose was cleaning up from the dinner service that the truly weird started to happen.  She watched surreptitiously as the other dinner ladies wheeled in a barrel of oil with extreme care, wearing gloves, goggles and masks.  She understood the bizarre extent of their caution now, and shivered slightly as she thought of the bat things that were lurking beneath the surface.

"What you got?" she asked quickly, picking up her phone on the first ring.

"Confirmation," Mickey said over the line.  "I just got into army records. Three months ago, massive UFO activity. They logged over forty sightings — lights in the sky, all of that. I can’t get any photos, ‘cause then it gets all classified and secret. Keeps locking me out."

"Hold on, didn’t the Doctor give you all the passwords and things for that sort of stuff?" she asked.

"Yeah, for UNIT," Mickey said.  "But this is Torchwood."

“ _Torchwood?_ ”

"Yeah…why, is that important?"

"Dunno," she said evasively, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut.  "Maybe.  Anyway, three months ago, turns out all the kitchen staff were replaced.  And this lot are _weird_.”

"See, there’s definitely something going on," Mickey said.  "I was right to call you home."

"No doubt," she said absently, still watching the dinner ladies.  She saw the barrel begin to tip, and said quickly, "gotta go," before hanging up.

She crept to the end of the shelves just as the barrel fell and spilled oil all over the dinner lady in front, who started screaming and smoking.  The other dinner ladies quickly descended and dragged her into the office.

"I’ll call for help, yeah?" she called after them.

"No need," said one of them, the one who had scolded her earlier.  "She’s quite all right."

"Didn’t look alright to me," Rose said, glancing at the office.  She looked at the dinner lady pointedly when the sound of a mild explosion and the puff of smoke emerged from the office.

"It’s fine," the dinner lady said.  "She does that."  With that, she turned back into the office, leaving Rose shaking her head.

oOoOo

They went back later that night, Rose again commenting about how strange it was to see school at night and recounting her old theory of the teachers sleeping in school.  She crept away to the kitchens for the oil sample after pointing Mickey in the right direction.  She wasn’t worried anymore about the oil being harmful to her, but she did keep an eye out for the bat creatures.  She was just leaving with her sample when she heard the shriek from elsewhere in the building and took off, nearly running into the Doctor and Sarah Jane in the hallway.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, skidding to a halt in front of them.  "Hello," she said warily to Sarah Jane.  Rose knew that while she might not feel threatened anymore, Sarah Jane definitely might.

"Rose, Sarah Jane!" the Doctor said, gesturing between them.  "Sarah Jane, Rose."

"The stowaway," Rose said with a happy smile, holding out her hand.  "Still an investigator, then?"

"Um…yes, from time to time," Sarah Jane said as she shook Rose’s hand, looking a little startled.  "It’s nice to meet you," she added, pulling herself together as she turned toward the Doctor.  "You can tell you’re getting older—your assistants are getting younger."

"She’s not my assistant," the Doctor said quickly before Rose had a chance to respond.  She looked up at him curiously.  "She’s my…" he floundered as he tugged at an ear uncomfortably, trying to categorize their relationship.  "…friend," he finished lamely.

"Look at you, tiger," Sarah Jane said, and Rose winced as the Doctor sped off, clearly uncomfortable.  They followed close behind.

"Sorry!" Mickey said when they found him in the science classroom, surrounded by vacuum packed rats.  "Sorry, it was only me. You told me to investigate, so I—I started looking through some of these cupboards and all of these fell out of them."

"They’re rats," Rose said flatly.  "Vacuum packed rats.  And you screamed," she added, to Mickey, choking on a laugh.  "You _shrieked_.”

"It took me by surprise!" cried Mickey.

"Like a little girl," the Doctor added while Rose giggled.

"It was dark!" Mickey said indignantly.  "I was covered in rats!"

"Nine, maybe ten years old," the Doctor continued.  "I’m seeing pigtails, frilly skirt."

"Alright, Doctor," Rose said finally, composing herself with effort.  "We need to focus.  Does anyone notice anything strange about this? Rats in school?"

"Well, obviously they use them in Biology lessons," Sarah Jane said in a patronizing tone.  "They dissect them. Or maybe you haven’t reached that bit yet. How old are you?"

Rose fought back a snippy reply at the comment as the Doctor exchanged a worried look with Mickey.  It wasn’t Sarah Jane’s fault.  She just had to keep telling herself that.  “They don’t dissect rats in school anymore,” she said instead.  “These are here for something else.”

"Anyway, moving on," the Doctor said quickly before Sarah Jane could reply again.  Rose could see the older woman was torn between distaste and curiosity.  Better that outright malice.  She’d take it.  "Everything started when Mr Finch arrived. We should go and check his office."  He tossed a rat he had been holding to Mickey, and grinned when he the boy dropped it before heading out into the corridor again.

"So the Doctor mentioned me?" Sarah Jane asked proudly as they walked through the corridor.  "I was under the impression that he was fairly button-lipped about previous assistants."

"Oh, but you were special," Rose said, trying to get Sarah Jane to lower her hackles.  "He was so proud of you."

"Well, we did go through quite a lot together," Sarah Jane replied, eyeing Rose, clearly believing that she didn’t quite measure up to what the Doctor needed in a companion.

"Yeah, so he said," Rose replied, fighting for calm.  "The spider bit especially sounds terrifying."

The Doctor walked behind them, bemused.  Seeing Sarah Jane again was a shock for a number of reasons, not the least of which being the evidence of years on her human form or the clear bitterness she displayed.  It was a glimpse into Rose’s future that terrified him, reminding him exactly how detrimental he was to everyone he touched, regardless of what she’d tried to tell him.  It also made him exceedingly nervous as to how the two would react to each other.  Strangely, barring a couple of cracks in her calm façade that no one apart from him would probably notice, Rose was handling the situation remarkably well.  It puzzled him, her being so much younger and prone to temper, as well as their relationship being…far closer than it should be.  He didn’t blame Sarah Jane for her resentment, but he couldn’t help feeling a little proud of Rose for not rising to the bait, even while he worried that this was because she absolutely refused to see what Sarah represented.

"Ho ho, mate," Mickey said quietly, patting him on the shoulder.  "The missus and the ex. Welcome to every man’s worst nightmare."

The Doctor ignored him, heading for Finch’s office.  The comparison wasn’t fair to either of them.

oOoOo

Rose walked outside with the Doctor and Sarah Jane, following after a sprinting Mickey.  They had found the bat people in Finch’s office, and Mickey had bolted.  She vaguely remembered doing the same last time, while it was only Sarah Jane and the Doctor who had remained somewhere near calm.  Now she’d seen too much to freak, and part of her mind was still mulling around how to thaw out Sarah Jane.  The whole situation would run much more smoothly if she could get the other woman to relax around her.

"I am not going back in there," Mickey said, panting slightly as he stopped outside of the school.  "No way."

"Those were teachers," Rose said.

"When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers," the Doctor said.  "Four dinner ladies and a nurse. Thirteen. Thirteen big bat people. Come on," he added, heading back toward the doors.

"Come on!" Mickey cried.  "You’ve got to be kidding!"

"I need the TARDIS," the Doctor explained, a little impatiently.  "I’ve got to analyze that oil from the kitchen."

"I might be able to help you, there," Sarah Jane said excitedly, grabbing his arm.  "I’ve got something to show you!"

She towed him over to her car and unlocked the boot, showing off something covered in a blanket.  The Doctor reached in and pulled the blanket off to reveal the tin dog.

"K9!" he exclaimed happily.  "Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith, allow me to introduce K9—well, K9 Mark III to be precise."

"Looks a bit…disco," Rose said, unable to help herself.

"Oi!" the Doctor cried, insulted on behalf of his robot companion.  "Listen, in the year five thousand, this was cutting edge! What’s happened to him?" he asked Sarah Jane.

"Oh, one day, he just pfft, nothing," she told him.

"Well, didn’t you try and get him repaired?"

"Well, it’s not like getting parts for a mini-metro!" Sarah Jane said defensively.  "Besides, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn’t show him to anyone!"

"Ooh, what’s the nasty lady done to you? Eh?" the Doctor asked in a baby voice, scratching the metal ears.  Rose snorted and Sarah Jane threw her a superior look.

"So, alright, K-9 can analyze the oil if you fix him, yeah?" Rose asked after a moment when her calm returned.  Much as she liked Sarah Jane, it was incredibly difficult not to revert to petty rivalry with her when she was like this.  Just because she understood it didn’t mean she had to like it.

"Yeah," the Doctor said.  "Let’s find somewhere with some decent lights, and I’ll see what I can do for him."

They piled into Sarah Jane’s car and headed off for the chip shop.  The Doctor sat in front with Sarah Jane, and they giggled over memories while Rose sat in the back with Mickey and stewed.  Their happy chatter continued when they got K-9 inside and set to work repairing him while Rose set off to get chips.

"You see, what’s impressive is that it’s been nearly an hour since we met her and I still haven’t said ‘I told you so’," Mickey said as she waited for her order.

"I’m not listening to this," she said quickly as she paid for her chips.

"Although, I have prepared a little ‘I was right’ dance that I can show you later," Mickey continued, grinning widely.  "All this time you’ve been giving it, ‘he’s different!’ — when the truth is, he’s just like any other bloke!"

"You don’t know what you’re talking about," Rose said firmly as they sat down and she speared a chip.

"Maybe not," he said.  "But if I were you…I’d go easy on the chips."

"Look, it’s not like that, honestly," Rose said, munching stoically.  "You act like I didn’t even know about her."

"You mean you did?" Mickey asked, incredulous.  "He actually told you about the other girls he’s gotten into that box of his?"

"No need to make it sound so…seedy," she said, and Mickey snorted.  "Seriously, they’re just friends.  Well, for him, anyway.  He’s got…rules about that sort of thing."

"Really?" Mickey asked.  "So you broke it off with me for an alien bloke who’s never going to touch you because he’s got rules?"

Rose glared at him and focused on her chips.  She did feel bad for Sarah Jane.  The Doctor was hard not to fall in love with.  And once he was gone, he took everything amazing about life with him.  She couldn’t blame the older woman for being so cold and judgmental…she wasn’t sure how she’d feel if she met anyone the Doctor replaced her with. 

Granted, the Doctor wasn’t making it any easier…since leaving the school, he’d been completely invested in playing catch up with Sarah Jane.  Rose might as well have not existed.

She couldn’t help but wonder now what the Doctor had done after she’d been trapped in the parallel world.  How long did he wait before he invited someone else?  Had he been as close to them as he had to her?  Had he lost them in painful ways as well?  Did he still miss her as much as she missed him?  Or had he started to forget her too?

"Oh, hey! Now we’re in business!" she heard the Doctor shout happily, and pulled herself from those thoughts.  If things went right, it wasn’t going to matter anyway. 

"Master!" said the voice of K-9.

"He recognizes me!" the Doctor said, ecstatic.  Rose smiled as she stood up and walked closer.

"Affirmative," the dog replied.

"Rose, give us the oil," the Doctor said, looking down in surprise when she stopped his hand before it smacked her.  He hadn’t realized that she was already so close.  She smiled and handed him the vial.  He grinned as he took it, their fingers touching briefly.

"Sure you should touch it?" Rose asked, not able to resist as he unscrewed the cap.  "That dinner lady got all scorched.

"I’m no dinner lady," he said, then stopped and looked at her, before adding, "and I don’t often say that."

She smiled as he dipped his finger into the oil and smeared it onto the sensor on K-9.

"Here we go," he said, wiping of his hand and crossing his arms.  "Come on, boy. Here we go."

"Oil. Ex—ex—ex—extract ana-an—analyzing…"

"Listen to it, man!" Mickey said with a grin, delighted.  "That’s a voice!"

"Careful!" Sarah Jane warned as Rose elbowed him.  "That’s my dog!"

"Confirmation of analysis," K-9 said after a moment.  "Substance is Krillitane Oil."

"They’re Krillitanes," the Doctor said, sounding shocked.

"Is that bad?" Rose asked.

"Very," he said, eyes roving around as he thought.  "Think of how bad things could possibly be, and add another suitcase full of bad."

"And what are…Krillitanes?" Sarah Jane asked.

"They’re a composite race," the Doctor said.  "Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of countries—people you’ve invaded or have been invaded by, you’ve got bits of…bits of Viking, bits of France, bits of whatever—the Krillitanes are the same. An amalgam of the races they’ve conquered. But they take physical aspects as well. They cherry-pick the best bits from the people they destroy. That’s why I didn’t recognize them. The last time I saw Krillitanes, they looked just like us except they had really long necks."

"What’re they doing here?" Rose asked.

"It’s the children," he said, horrified.  "They’re doing something to the children."

oOoOo

Sarah Jane and Mickey left with K-9 as the Doctor pulled on his coat.  Rose hesitated, waiting for him, but hurrying after him when he brushed past her.

Rose was jealous and he knew it. She’d hidden it well, but she was. He also knew that he’d done very little to keep her from feeling that way. A part of him had seen an opportunity, and had hoped that she’d believe that there was something more between him and Sarah Jane. Maybe it would keep her from…caring about him…the way she did, because it was that much harder to keep himself in check when he knew that she thought he was what she wanted. He had to make her see that neither of them could win at that game. She was too temporary and he was too broken.

"Doctor," she called.

"Yeah," he said not slowing or turning.

"Doctor," she said again, stopping in her tracks. He stopped as well and turned slowly, watching her warily. "That’s Sarah Jane Smith."

"Yeah, I know," he said, still watching her.

"And she’s still her," Rose said.

"What’s your point?" he asked sharply.

"You kept your promise, Doctor," she said softly, and he took a step closer to hear her. "You kept your promise to never forget her, and she kept hers. And she’s alright. You didn’t destroy her."

"How do you do that?" he asked quietly, losing some of the fight in him as he stepped closer still.

"How do I do what?"

"Rose, she’s been staring daggers at you all night, making digs whenever possible, acting bitter and resentful and to be honest showing exactly what kind of person I turn people into…and you are trying to make _me_ feel better.”

"She’s not as hard as you think," Rose told him. "She’s just…having a difficult time coping with the reality of you being here and having evidence of a life after her. But it’s like I told you before…still investigating, still fighting…she’s still Sarah Jane Smith."

The Doctor stared at her for a long moment. He’d been expecting her to finally crack, to be angry, to say something about him and Sarah Jane, to be jealous, be hurt at finally seeing evidence of who he was and what he did to people. He’d expected her to assume the worst, and give up whatever they…had together. But she was so damn stubborn. She always had to see straight through all stupid lies he told to protect himself and expose the pain underneath. Because the truth was, Sarah’s words had hurt like hell, and now here was Rose, flying in the face of everything he steeled himself for and stunning him with words of healing that he had no right to. One day, he swore, she was going to react like a normal human…but right now, she was being quintessentially Rose, something far more frightening than any mere human ever had been.

"And what about you?" he asked, unable to stop himself. "Are you prepared for that? Me moving on without you?"

"Are you going to leave me the way you left Sarah Jane?" she asked. "Is that really what’s going to happen to me?"

"No," he said honestly, if a little reluctantly. "Not to you. But you have to realize…you can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can’t spend mine with you."

"Just promise me…promise you won’t forget me, Doctor,” she said roughly.  “If anything happens…just don’t ever forget me."

"Rose—"

"Please, Doctor."

He paused, watching her carefully.  He wished fervently that he could give her more…but nothing would stop him from at least giving her this. 

"Rose Tyler," he said softly, grasping her jaw with one long fingered hand. "As long as I live, I will remember you." He ran a thumb along her jaw tenderly, and then smiled down at her a little ruefully. "And Time Lords live a very long time."

A screech rang through the air, breaking the moment.  The Doctor spun around as Sarah Jane and Mickey ran toward them, all of them ducking when a bat creature dove at them.  It flew off again, however, without attacking.

"Someone’s sending a message," Rose said softly.  The Doctor nodded once, his face hard.

They all went back to Sarah Jane’s for what was left of the night.  Rose still didn’t get a chance to talk to the older woman, who pled exhaustion as soon as blankets were handed out.  Rose fell asleep on the sofa against the Doctor, who stayed awake stewing about the Krillitanes, Sarah Jane, and the pink and yellow human in his arms.


	41. School Reunion, part 2

Rose finally got a chance to talk to Sarah Jane the next day when they split up in the school.  She stood by quietly while Sarah Jane tried to get the sonic to work for her in the computer lab, sighing when the woman cried out in frustration.

"Let me try," she said, taking the sonic from her and ducking under the desk.

"Used to work first time in my day," Sarah Jane commented.

"Expect he’s had a few versions since then," Rose said simply.  "Plus he’s always adding new settings to it.  One day a setting is for toast, the next it’s for melting steel," she added with an eyeroll.

"Rose, can I give you a bit of advice?" Sarah Jane asked after a moment.  Rose straightened up and looked at her but said nothing.  "I know how intense a relationship with the Doctor can be, and I don’t want you to feel I’m intruding—“

"Sarah, I don’t feel threatened by you," Rose interrupted softly.

"Right," Sarah Jane replied quickly.  "Good. Because, I’m not interested in picking up where we left off."

"No, you don’t get it," Rose said, moving to a chair so that she could be at eye level with Sarah.  "I’m not saying it to sound tough, or because I think that I’m better than you in any way.  I honestly mean it.  I know I’m not the first person to travel with the Doctor, and I…well, I doubt I’m going to be the last.  I’m just…current."  Sarah Jane was watching her, looking a little confused.    "I don’t bear any ill will toward you for your history with him.  Actually, I have the utmost respect for you.  You did so much with him, saw so many amazing things, travelled so far…Sarah Jane, you are so special.  And that’s not because you were with him.  It’s because you’re you…he just showed you who you could be, because he saw how brilliant you really are."  She paused, and gave a grin.  "You’re my hero, Sarah Jane."

Sarah Jane continued to stare for a moment.  She really had expected Rose to show some kind of hurt, or anger, or jealousy, especially being so young.  She hadn’t expected the calm, intuitive wisdom that the girl spoke with that chipped away at her bitterness with every word.

"You really are…quite something, Rose," she said finally.

Rose laughed, breaking the tension of the moment.  “Not really.  I’m still no match for the Doctor.  God, that is a man that could make Einstein feel like a dunce.”  She gave Sarah a sideways glance.  “With you, did he do that thing where he’d explain something at like, ninety-miles-per-hour, and you’d go, ‘what?’ and he’d look at you like you’d just dribbled on your shirt?”

"All the time!" Sarah Jane said, and they both chuckled.  "Does he still stroke bits of the TARDIS?"

"Yeah! Yeah, he does!" Rose said, giggling.  "I’m like, ‘do you two wanna be alone?’"

The Doctor walked in as they both broke into hysterical laughter.

"How’s it going?" he asked, and they both simply laughed harder.  "What? Listen, I need to find out what’s programmed inside these."  They both continued laughing, holding their sides and nearly falling out of their chairs.  "What? Stop it!"

They both tried to get control of themselves, looking anywhere but at each other.  Suddenly, a buzzer went off, sobering them immediately.

“ _All pupils to class immediately_ ,” said a voice over the loudspeaker. “ _And would all members of staff congregate in the staff room_.”

The Doctor made a growling noise of frustration.  “Rose, keep the kids out of here…direct them to the South Hall,” he said, striding forward and taking the screwdriver from her.  “I’ve got to get into these computers.”

Rose stood by the doors and redirected the students while the Doctor worked at the computer at the head of the classroom.  Once the students had been diverted, she made her way back up the room.

"But I thought the sonic screwdriver could open anything," Sarah Jane was saying as she got closer.

"Anything except a deadlock seal," the Doctor said.  "There’s gotta be something inside here. What’re they teaching those kids?"

He quickly moved over to one of the student computers and tried the sonic on there, as well as tapping several keys, but to no avail.

Suddenly, a spinning cube next to a rapidly changing code popped up on the projection screen, as well as every computer in the room.

"You wanted the program," Sarah Jane said as they all looked up at the screen.  "There it is."

"Some sort of code," the Doctor said staring at it, narrowing his eyes slightly, then widening in shock.  "No… no, they can’t be…"

"Doctor?" Rose asked.

"The Skasis Paradigm," he said grimly.  "They’re trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm."

"The Skasis what?" Sarah Jane asked.

"The…God-maker," he said.  "The universal theory. Crack that equation and you’ve got control of the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control."

"With the kids as a giant computer," Rose said.

"And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil," he said, nodding.  "That oil from the kitchens, it works as a—as a…conducting agent. Makes the kids cleverer."

"But that oil’s on the chips," Rose said.  "I’ve been eating them."

"What’s fifty-nine times thirty-five?" the Doctor asked quickly.

"Two thousand and sixty five," she said promptly, making the Doctor raise his eyebrows in a "there, you see?" gesture.  "Oh my God."

"But why use children?" Sarah Jane asked.  "Can’t they use adults?"

"No, it’s gotta be children," the Doctor said, shaking his head and pacing.  "The God-maker needs imagination to crack it. They’re not just using the children’s brains to break the code… they’re using their souls."

"Let the lesson begin," came Finch’s voice from the back of the classroom.  The Doctor turned slowly to face him.  "Think of it, Doctor—with the Paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it."

"Oh yeah? The whole of creation with the face of Mr Finch," the Doctor scoffed.  "Call me old fashioned, but I like things as they are."

"You act like such a radical," Finch said, sounding confused, "and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order. Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good."

"What, by someone like you?" the Doctor asked with obvious skepticism.

"No," Finch replied.  "Someone like you."  The Doctor was silent, taken aback by this answer.  "The Paradigm gives us power, but _you_ could give us wisdom. Become a God. At my side. Imagine what you could do—think of the civilizations you could save. Perganon, Assinta… your own people, Doctor. Standing tall. The Time Lords…reborn.”

The Doctor simply stared, unable to form a response, thinking, no doubt, of all that he had lost.

"Doctor, don’t listen to him," Sarah Jane warned, her eyes flashing as she glared at Finch.

"And you could be with him throughout eternity," Finch said, turning to Rose and Sarah Jane.  "Young…fresh…never wither, never age…never die."  Rose stared back at him coldly.  If she was able to change things, that would happen for her anyway…but not like this.  Never like this.  "Their lives are so fleeting," he said, turning back to the Doctor.  "So many goodbyes. How lonely you must be, Doctor. Join us."

"I could save everyone," the Doctor said, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Yes," Finch said.

The Doctor’s gaze shifted to Rose, and she could see all the cracks in his armor, all his painful memories written plainly on his face.  Rose’s heart broke for him as his vulnerabilities were played on by a hateful man.

The Doctor thought about all he had lost, all he could gain, all he could keep, despite knowing that what Finch was doing was every sort of wrong.  And then he looked at Rose, and the words she spoke when his walls had crumbled came back to him. 

_“A hero is someone who stands up while everyone else bows, who does the right thing no matter how painful the cost, who faces down the darkness…even when it’s his own.”_

She thought he was a hero.  Maybe…that was enough.

“No, Finch,” he said, staring down the other man, his voice strong.  “Everything ends.  No one should have the power to change that.  Nothing was meant to last forever, no matter how beautiful or deserving—” his voice broke as his gaze flitted to Rose and Sarah Jane, both so special to him in their own ways, but he rallied quickly.  “The universe has to move on.  And so do I.”

He took a deep breath, then grabbed a chair and threw it at the screen, smashing it.

"Out!" he yelled while the glass was still falling, darting out into the hall with Rose and Sarah Jane close behind.  Rose’s mind raced.  It had taken Sarah Jane for him to see that before.  But he’d looked at her, and something had changed.  He had stood straighter and faced down Mr Finch with fire in his eyes, stronger this time around.  Her hero.

"What is going on?" Mickey asked as they barreled by him in the hall, but before anyone could answer, the Krillitanes flew into the hall.  They tore down the hall and ended up in the cafateria.  They ran to the end to try the doors, but found them all locked.  The Doctor reached inside his coat for his sonic, but Finch burst through the door with several Krillitanes in his wake.

"Are they my teachers?" the student asked.

"Yeah, sorry," the Doctor said quickly, keeping his eyes trained on Finch.

"Leave the Doctor alive," Finch ordered.  "As for the others…you can feast."

The bat things swooped down, and the Doctor tried to beat them off with a chair while everyone else ducked away.  Suddenly, a red beam shot out and took out one of the Krillitanes, eliciting a screech from Finch.

"K-9!" Sarah Jane cried happily.

"Suggest you engage running mode, mistress," said the dog.

"Come on!" the Doctor shouted, running for the door.  "K-9, hold them back!"

"Affirmative, master," the dog replied.  "Maximum defense mode!"

The Doctor reached the doors first and ushered the others through with another shout.  They sprinted down the hall again and ended up in the physics lab, the Doctor slamming the door behind them and locking it with the sonic screwdriver.

"Doctor," Rose said as they stood in the lab.  "If we can get them to the kitchens…the oil…”

"The oil," he repeated, looking at her blankly for a moment before realization dawned.  "That’s it! They’ve changed the physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them. How much was there in the kitchens?"

"Barrels of it," she assured him as the Krillitanes started pounding on the locked door, ripping holes in it with their claws.

"Okay, we need to get to the kitchens. Mickey—“

"What now, hold the coats?" Mickey interrupted with attitude.

"Get all the children unplugged and out of the school," the Doctor said, ignoring the snark.  "Now then, bats, bats, bats, how do we fight bats?"

The student—Kenny, Rose suddenly remembered—shook his head and strode over to the fire alarm, smashing an elbow through the glass and setting it off.  The Doctor laughed and beamed at him before rushing to the door and unlocking it.  Everyone quickly made their way past the debilitated Krillitanes and down the corridor.

"Master!" K-9 called, emerging from a doorway.

"Come on, boy!" the Doctor encouraged as they ran.  "Good boy."

When they reached the kitchen, the Doctor shot over to the barrels, attempting to open them with his sonic.

"They’ve been deadlock sealed!" he cried as he moved to another, still with no luck.  "Finch must’ve done that—I can’t open them."

"The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser," K-9 said.  "But my batteries are failing."

"Right," he said, glancing around.  "Everyone out the back door. K9, stay with me."

They darted out the door, but Sarah Jane lingered outside.

"Sarah, we have to go," Rose said quickly.  "He’ll be alright, but you know how fond he is of pyrotechnics."

The older woman looked back at the door briefly before nodding, both of them racing around the school.  They reached the group of students that had been shepherded out by Mickey just as the first explosions were heard.  Rose was relieved when she saw the Doctor tearing around the corner toward them as the flames started.

The students cheered, but the Doctor, Rose and Sarah Jane stood a little apart, watching a bit more grimly.

"Where’s K-9?" Sarah Jane asked him.

He looked down at her sadly and shook his head.  “I’m sorry, Sarah Jane.”

She looked stricken for a moment, but tried to recover.  “It’s all right. He was just a…daft metal dog. Fine, really.”  She couldn’t quite stop the tears, though, and the Doctor put his arms around her as they watched the school—and the Krillitanes trapped inside—burn to ash.

oOoOo

When the Doctor and Rose made it inside the school to the TARDIS, he moved them to the Vortex for some time, unbeknownst to Mickey and Sarah Jane.  Rose helped him in rebuilding K-9, understanding his urgency.  He felt he had taken many things from Sarah Jane…innocence, youth, happiness…but the dog he could replace.  When they finally materialized in the park, Mickey found them quickly as the Doctor guided K-9 Mark IV outside to hide behind the TARDIS.  Sarah Jane arrived soon afterwards, and the Doctor invited her inside.

"You’ve redecorated!" she exclaimed as she entered the TARDIS, taking in the coral motif.

"Do you like it?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, I do. Yeah," she said, smiling.  "I preferred it as it was, but uh… yeah. It’ll do!"

"I love it," Rose said happily.

"Hey, you," Sarah Jane greeted her warmly, walking toward her.  "What’s forty seven times three hundred and sixty nine?

_Seventeen thousand, three hundred and forty three._

"No idea," she lied as the TARDIS hummed happily in her head.  The oil seemed to have jumpstarted some of that “accelerated learning” the TARDIS had talked about.  Best keep that to herself for now.  "It’s gone now—the oil’s faded."

"But you’re still clever," Sarah Jane said with a smile.  "More than a match for him."

"You and me both," Rose replied, returning her smile.  She looked over at the Doctor, who was fiddling at the console.  "Doctor…?"

"Hmm?" he asked, looking up.  "Oh…um, we’re about to head off, but…you could come with us," he suggested to Sarah Jane with a smile.

"No…I can’t do this anymore," she said softly, and the Doctor deflated a little.  She saw it, and added enthusiastically, "Besides, I’ve got a much bigger adventure ahead! Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own."

"Can I come?" Mickey asked suddenly from behind Rose.  "No, not with you," he said quickly when Sarah Jane looked surprised, gesturing instead to the Doctor.  "I mean…with you.  ‘Cause I’m not the tin dog. And I wanna see what’s out there."

"Oh, go on, Doctor," Sarah Jane urged when the Doctor looked reluctant.  "Sarah Jane Smith—and Mickey Smith. You need a Smith on board!"

"Okay then," he said, not looking at Rose.  "I could do with a laugh."

"Rose, is that okay?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah, alright," she said with a smile, which Mickey happily returned.  She couldn’t help wondering, though, why the Doctor avoided her gaze.

"Well, I’d better go," Sarah Jane said, but pulled Rose aside before leaving.  "You are staying with him," she said quietly.  It was a statement, almost an order, not a question.

Rose nodded.  “An incredibly brilliant woman once told me…some things are worth getting your heart broken for.”

"Good advice," Sarah Jane said with a smile before pulling Rose in for an embrace.  "Find me," she said softly. "If you need to, one day. Find me."

Rose nodded and smiled, pulling away.  She sincerely hoped, as she watched the Doctor walk her out, that this wouldn’t be the last time she’d see Sarah Jane Smith.

oOoOo

"It’s daft, but I haven’t ever thanked you for that time," Sarah Jane told the Doctor as they stepped outside.  "And like I said—I wouldn’t have missed it for the world."

"Something to tell the grandkids," the Doctor said with a smile.

"Oh, I think it’ll be someone else’s grandkids now," Sarah Jane said softly.

"Right. Yes, sorry," he said, shifting uncomfortably.  "I didn’t get a chance to ask. You haven’t…there hasn’t been anyone…? You know…?"

"No…there was one guy, but he was a tough act to follow," Sarah Jane said slowly, studying him with a strange expression on her face.  "You know, when Rose first said you’d mentioned me, I thought it was because I was special.  But that isn’t it, is it?"

"Oh, Sarah Jane—“ he started, quick to assure her that she was indeed special to him, but she interrupted him quickly.

"She didn’t know about me because I was special…she knows about you because she is," Sarah Jane said softly.

The Doctor swallowed hard.  “Yeah,” he said quietly after a moment.  “Yeah, she is.”

"Oh, Doctor," Sarah Jane said sadly, realizing instantly how difficult it was for him to care so much for someone whose lifespan was so limited compared to his.  "What are you going to do?"

"I don’t know," he said, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably.

Sarah watched him closely for another moment, then said, “It’s like Rose said, Doctor…some things are worth getting your heart broken for.”

"Yeah?" he asked, meeting her gaze with his head still bowed.

"Yeah," she said with a small smile.  "Goodbye, Doctor."

"Oh, it’s not goodbye—“

"Say it, please," she said urgently.  "This time. Say it."

The Doctor dropped his hand to his side and looked more fully into her eyes.  “Goodbye,” he said, then smiled.  “My Sarah Jane.”

He pulled her into his arms, lifting her clean off the ground and swinging her around as he embraced her tightly.  No matter what she might think, she would always be so, so special to him.

 “So, boss, where we headed to first?” Mickey asked as the Doctor entered the TARDIS and headed up the ramp toward the console.

“We still haven’t seen the Proclaimers,” Rose said with her teasing grin, skipping up to the Doctor.

“No, no we haven’t,” he said with a smile as the TARDIS dematerialized.  “But I think we could do a bit better than that for Mickey’s first trip, eh?”

Preferably somewhere that he could establish some much needed distance between him and Rose.  Because everything had to come to an end, even her, regardless of how much as he might need and adore her.  While she might think that some things were worth getting her heart broken for, he vowed that he would not be the one to break it.


	42. Going for Distance

The Doctor paced unhappily.  Rose was with Mickey, exploring the TARDIS.  He had bowed out, saying he needed to work on something, trying to get some space to breathe away from the distraction that was Rose Tyler.

Somehow, everything had taken an extremely complicated left turn.  It had been bad enough when she’d simply been asking him questions.  He had told her so many things, things he’d never told anyone, things that were sacred.  He still wasn’t sure why.  Maybe because he had just been waiting for someone to ask.  Maybe because, despite what he told himself, he really did need someone.

Or maybe…no, definitely…just because it was her.  Because every time she asked something, everything about her said she genuinely wanted to know, not just because of some passing curiosity, but because she genuinely cared about _him_.  And she always gave him an out, always gave him the opportunity to decline, which somehow made it easier to talk, because it was his decision instead of her pressing him for answers.

And it had been easy, telling her these things, always skirting around the worst of pain, but healing nonetheless.  And that had been fine.  He didn’t mind her asking questions, and he didn’t mind answering, even if every conversation did leave him a little more in love with her than he had been before.

But then she’d found him when he was breaking apart, and it had all gone to hell.

He’d spent over nine hundred years constructing the strongest emotional defenses in the universe, and now he was scrambling for protection while what he had thought was steel was melting like rice paper in her presence.  He’d fallen apart in a way he would never normally allow, revealed the nightmares and the agony that were his alone to carry because he was the cause of so much torment…and she’d eased the burden by simply refusing to leave.  She withstood the storm and she spoke to the demons in the back of his head, had held him when he shattered, and then still looked at him like…like he deserved her love.  Somehow, she’d made him stronger simply by allowing him to be broken for a little while.

And then because of that, because of _all_ of that, on top of what he already felt for her, he’d slipped up yet again and kissed her.  It hadn’t been the chaste kiss for celebration or to prove a point, and it hadn’t been the fiery kiss Rose had initiated as a comparison.  It was tender and loving, and filled with the longing he felt for everything he could never have.

And then he’d pretended it never happened, just like he always did.  And then he’d seen Sarah Jane.  He’d seen the evidence of years on her face.  He’d seen the broken heart he’d left her with that had never completely healed.  He’d seen the pain and the bitterness that marked his passing through her life, and it all served as a grim reminder that everything with Rose was temporary.  And he’d allowed them to become so much closer than they ever should have been…how much worse would it be for her?

He couldn’t do this anymore.  Not like this.  Not with her.  He was the last of his kind, doomed to keep running long after everything else he had ever loved in the universe perished.  He couldn’t afford to let his guard relax around Rose, because just the fact that he wanted to break the Rules was exactly why he never could.  Sooner or later she’d be gone.  Either she’d leave because she found something he couldn’t offer her, or she’d decay in front of his eyes while he was powerless to stop it.  Worse still, if he didn’t maintain his emotional barriers, one of two things would happen: either he’d completely collapse in on himself when she was gone, or, more likely, she’d eventually see something she couldn’t understand and couldn’t forgive.  He couldn’t rely on someone so temporary, and he couldn’t see _that_ look in her eyes.  Not her.

But he couldn’t just let her leave, either.  If loving her was excruciating, leaving her was unthinkable.

Distance.  Distance was the thing.  That’s the whole reason he’d let Mickey on board.  She might not have romantic feelings about the boy anymore, but he could at least create a buffer between Rose and the Doctor.  One that was desperately needed, for both their sakes.

oOoOo

Rose was…confused.  After the school adventure, she’d been positively buoyant, because everything had gone so much better than it had last time.  She’d avoided all out catfights with Sarah, and the argument with the Doctor wasn’t nearly as bad as last time.  And he’d shined in that moment with Finch.  He’d changed things by himself…she didn’t know why, but she was so proud of him.

But that was fifteen hours ago.  He’d said he needed to work on something in the console room, and waved off her and Mickey to explore the TARDIS.  He’d never made another appearance, though she hadn’t been able to find him in the console room either.  He hadn’t been in the library or any of his various labs and workrooms either.  Now Mickey was in bed, and Rose was lying awake, tossing and turning and trying to figure it out.  Something was wrong.  Even before he’d disappeared, the Doctor had been avoiding her gaze.  He had been so much more open with her, from day one, that this sudden distance was jarring.

Rose finally gave up and got out of bed, pulling on her trainers and leaving the room.  They were so close now…she wasn’t going to let him start shutting her out now, at least not without a damn good reason.

She found him back in the console room, pacing around and muttering to himself.  His hair was mussed, showing clear signs of fingers being dragged through it many times over.  He was working on different bits of the console in a distracted manner, flitting from one spot to the other restlessly.  Definitely something wrong, then.

“Doctor?”

He jumped when she spoke, whirling around to look at her.  “Rose!  What’re you…um…shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“Not tired,” she said, looking at him closely and taking a step towards him.  She didn’t miss the step he took back.  “Are you alright?”

“I’m always alright,” he said, looking away and turning back to the console.

Alarm bells started going off in Rose’s head.  The only time he said that was when he was not alright at all, and simply didn’t want to talk about it.  She had heard him say it plenty of times before, but never since coming back.  Even if he didn’t want to talk about something now, he would at least say he’d been better with a little shrug before moving on, and the last time he’d done _that_ was just before he’d woken up shaking and yelling her name.  She had thought they were past this.

“You sure?” she asked, taking a few steps closer, and watched with interest as he smoothly moved around the console.  The movement looked completely casual, but she suspected that it was anything but.  “Are you feeling better about Sarah Jane?”

“Umhm,” he said, focusing on a part in his hand.

“She really is incredible,” Rose said, trying to distract him as she moved around the console.

“I told you,” he said, glancing sideways before moving away again to install the part on another part of the console.  She stared at him.  He was actively trying to keep the console between them.  She had a horrible feeling that the only reason he hadn’t completely bolted from the room was because it would be too obvious.

“Doctor, what are you doing?” she asked.

“I…am…replacing the dimensional capacitor and reducing drag in the Vortex,” he said, not looking up.

“You know that’s not what I mean,” she said softly.

He sighed and closed his eyes, swallowing hard before he looked up at her.  Her mouth fell open a little when she saw the wariness and distance in his eyes.  He was making a concentrated effort to keep every single one of his formidable walls up, to keep her out.

“Then what?” he asked coldly.  “What is it you’re looking for here?”

“Don’t do this,” she said softly.  “Please, don’t shut me out like this.”

He studied her for a moment, his face hard.  “Rose, things have gotten far more complicated between us than it should have.  That’s my fault.  But that makes it my responsibility to fix it.”

“Fix what, exactly?” she asked warily.  “And how?”

“Fix us,” he said simply, and then his walls slipped, just a little.  “I’m sorry, Rose.  I should never had let it come to this.  But we need some distance,” he finished, rallying.

“Are…are you taking me home?” she asked, swallowing back her feelings of dread.

“No!” he said quickly, the walls slipping further as he leaned toward her across the console before he realized what he was doing.  He swallowed and straightened.  “No, I just…I’ve let too many things slide between us, and that’s dangerous for both of us.”

“How?” she snapped.

“Because you and I are not the same,” he said.  “It’s been too easy to forget.  You can’t forget that you’re human, and young, and there are so many things that you’re going to want that I’ll never be able to give you, even if you think right now, god knows why, that I’m what you want.  And I can’t forget that I’m a Time Lord, and even if you did stay the rest of your life, you’d wither away in front of me, and I’d still have to go on alone.”  He bowed his head, avoiding her stare as he added, “Sarah Jane said you thought some things were worth getting your heart broken for.  I’m not one of them.”

“You don’t always get to make that decision, Doctor,” Rose said softly.  “And I’m not leaving you.  Not while I have a choice.”

He looked up at her sharply, and the walls fell away.  She saw for an instant the intense fear: the fear of loving her and the fear of losing her, the fear of being left alone yet again.

“I can’t, Rose,” he said, his voice breaking.  “I wish…but I can’t.”

They were both quiet for a moment while she held his gaze, while he silently pled for her to understand.  She wanted to run to him, to tell him it didn’t have to be this way, that he didn’t have to be in pain…but even without the TARDIS buzzing in alarm, she knew that was impossible.  She couldn’t promise him forever until she was sure it was something she could offer.

“So…what?” she asked, when he finally looked away.  “How does this distance thing work then?  Are we just going to pretend that there’s an invisible wall between us?”

The Doctor took a deep breath.  “More or less.  And no more questions about me,” he added, looking up at her again, defenses firmly back in place.  “You already know as much as anyone should.  More, really.  Time for you to just leave it.”

She chewed her lip, then took a step around the console.  She froze when he jumped, but then took another step, moving closer as he watched her warily.  She stopped a couple of feet in front of him.

“Do you really think this will help?” she asked, gesturing to the air between them.

He scrubbed a hand down his face, suddenly looking very tired.  It had to be hard, Rose realized, fighting against himself the way he did all the time.

“I don’t know,” he admitted softly.  “But right now, it’s all I’ve got.”

She nodded.  “Then for right now, I’ll put up with it,” she said, then nearly choked when she remembered the adventure that must be coming soon.  She closed her eyes for a minute, pushing away the thought of his brief affair with the French courtesan, of being stranded miles and millennia away from him.  “Just don’t run too far, Doctor,” she choked out.  “Please.”

With that, she swept past him, running for her bedroom.

The Doctor watched her go.  He’d felt his rice paper defenses grow still thinner as she called him out.  The first time he’d kissed her, it had been after she’d torn apart his ship and burned her own mind to get back to him.  Something told him that two feet of air wasn’t going to stop her for long.  What really terrified him was the voice in his head that was cheering her on.


	43. The Girl in the Fireplace, part 1

Days went past after Rose had the distance talk with the Doctor.  He took Mickey on a sort of whirlwind tour of the universe, showing off planets and solar systems, the birth and death of stars, and galaxies expanding around them, never landing, never stopping, just throwing the doors open and showing off.  All the while, he was friendly enough with Rose, but decidedly closed off.  The little touches between them were gone, as were the late night conversations alone in the kitchen or library.  He hadn’t let his walls slip again after that initial conversation.  He’d shut her out completely.  She felt his absence keenly, but had no idea how to change it.

Needless to say, by the time they finally landed in what was easily one of her top five most hated places in the universe, Rose was already feeling more than a little _touchy_.

"It’s a spaceship!" Mickey said as they stepped out of the TARDIS.  "Brilliant, I got a spaceship on my first go!"

"Looks kind of abandoned," Rose noted with distaste.  She did not like this spaceship, or the woman it was connected to.  _Especially_ on the coattails of the Doctor’s “distance” talk.  ”Anyone on board?”

"Nah, nothing here," the Doctor said, looking around.  "Well, nothing dangerous. Well, not that dangerous."  He paused, looking thoughtful.   "You know what, I’ll just have a quick scan…in case there’s anything dangerous."

Rose smirked as he walked over to the control panel and started fiddling with it.

"So, what’s the date?" she asked for Mickey’s benefit.  "How far have we gone?"

"About three thousand years into your future, give or take," the Doctor said.  He pulled a switch on the control panel and the lights turned on.  At the same time, the roof gradually opened to reveal a skylight that gave a panoramic view of the stars.  "Fifty-first century. Diagmar Cluster, you’re a long way from home, Mickey! Two and a half galaxies!"

Mickey had moved over to one of the portholes while the Doctor talked, and was gazing out of it with his jaw slack.  Rose walked over while the Doctor continued to rummage around the console panel.

“See anything you like?” she asked, peering over his shoulder.

“Man, I just cannot get over this,” he said, making her smile.  “I’m in space.  I’m in outer freaking space!”

"Dear me, had some cowboys in here!" the Doctor said, and Rose moved back towards him.  "Got a ton of repair work going on."  He chucked a few random bits around casually, then stopped and examined a diagram, Rose looking over his shoulder.  "Now that’s odd, look at that. All the warp engines are going… full capacity! There’s enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe… and we’re not moving. So where’s all that power going?"

"Where’d all the crew go?" she asked, and he jumped when he realized how close she was.  Rose rolled her eyes.  This was getting old fast.

The Doctor, however, was feeling roughly the same way.  He knew why he’d initiated the new distance clause in their relationship, but it was getting harder and harder to justify it.  He was getting tired of missing her when she was standing right next to him, tired of hiding himself away when all he wanted to do was sit with her and talk about everything and nothing in the relaxed way that he only could with her.  The only reason he was jumpy now was because every time she got within arm distance, he had to fight not to chuck the distance rule out the window and pull her into his arms and apologize for being so incredibly thick…even if it _was_ the absolute last thing he should be doing.

"Good question," he said, covering the movement by leaning forward and poking a few buttons. "No life readings on board."

"So where did they go?"

"Dunno…" he said slowly, straightening up and sniffing the air.  "Can you smell that?"

"Yeah," Rose said.  She felt bile rising in her throat when as she said, "someone’s cooking."

"Sunday roast, definitely!" Mickey agreed, not realizing yet the truth of her statement.  She shook her head sadly as the Doctor pressed another button and a door slid open behind them.  They all walked in to find the fireplace burning cheerfully.  Rose narrowed her eyes at it.

_Stupid French fireplaces leading to stupid beautiful French women that are all smart and cultured and…and FRENCH_ , Rose thought unhappily.

"Well, there’s something you don’t see in your average spaceship," the Doctor was saying, walking up to it.  "Eighteenth century! French! Nice mantel…Not a hologram," he added after pointing his screwdriver at it.  Rose moved to the side and leaned against the wall while the Doctor examined the fireplace more closely.  "Not even a reproduction, this actually is an eighteenth century French fireplace. Double-sided, there’s another room through there."

"Through there is deep space," Rose said.  "That fireplace is going somewhere else."

"Hmm…" He crouched down to peer through it.  "Hello!" he said suddenly, and Rose crouched beside him to see a young Reinette. 

"Hello," the girl said uncertainly.  _Oh, sure, all sweet and innocent now_ , Rose thought maliciously.  She immediately felt bad.  It wasn’t the girl’s fault that the Doctor could be such a complete prat.  Well, mostly not her fault.  Well…not yet, anyway.

"Reinette, that’s a lovely name," the Doctor was saying when Rose managed to focus again.  "Can you tell me where you are at the moment, Reinette?"

"In my bedroom," the girl said, sounding a little suspicious.

"And where’s your bedroom?" he asked.  "Where do you live, Reinette?"

"Paris, of course!" she said quickly.

"Paris, right!"

"Monsieur, what are you doing in my fireplace?" she asked, still suspicious.

"Oh, it’s just a routine…fire check," he said lamely.  "Can you tell me what year it is?"

"Of course I can! Seventeen hundred and twenty seven."

"Right, lovely! One of my favorites," he said with a grin.  "August is rubbish though. Stay indoors. Okay, that’s all for now. Thanks for your help. Hope you enjoy the rest of the fire. Night night!"

"Goodnight Monsieur."

"You said this was the fifty-first century," Mickey said accusingly as the Doctor stood up and buried his hands in his pockets, looking thoughtful.

"I also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the universe," he said slowly.  "I think we just found the hole. Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink."

"You made that up," Rose accused with an arched brow.

"Yes, I did," he said unapologetically, arching a brow of his own.  "Didn’t wanna say ‘magic door’."

"And on the other side of the ‘magic door’ is France in 1727?"

"Well, she was speaking French," he said, nodding, as he took off his coat and threw it in a corner.  "Right period French, too."

"She was speaking English," Mickey protested.  "I heard her!"

"That’s the TARDIS," Rose said.  "Translates for ya."

"Even French?"

"Yep," she told him as the Doctor went back to examining the fireplace.

"Gotcha!" the Doctor said as he pulled at something on the side and the whole thing spun around.

"Stupid magic doors," Rose muttered.

"Where’d he go?" Mickey asked, slightly panicked.

"If I had to guess, France in 1727," she said with false cheer before frowning at him.  "Honestly, Mickey, weren’t you paying attention?"

"Sorry…just didn’t expect him to just take off like that," Mickey mumbled.  "He do that often?"

"He does here," she muttered.  "He’ll be back though."

"What’s going on with you two, anyway?" Mickey asked after a moment.  "Only, you’ve both seemed a little jumpy around each other since that school."

"Don’t want to talk about it, Mickey," Rose said in a warning tone.

"This have something to do with that Sarah Jane Smith?" he asked with his characteristic disregard for self-preservation.  "Some old feelings come up?"

“ _No_ , Mickey, now shut it,” she said, walking away toward the control panel.

_Patience, my Wolf_ , the TARDIS hummed in her mind.  Rose swatted at the sensation…then sent an apology back.  Maybe, with the changes in their relationship, even if they were taking some ‘distance’ from each other, he wouldn’t…leave them behind.

She whirled around when she heard the fireplace spin, racing back into the room.  The Doctor darted to the side and grabbed a fire extinguisher that looked like a rocket launcher and sprayed the clockwork droid that was stuck to the fireplace extensively until it froze in place.

"Excellent, ice gun!" Mickey said appreciatively.

"Fire extinguisher," the Doctor corrected, tossing it to Rose.

"And that thing?" Rose asked, nodding at the droid.

"Came from the ship," he said.  "Some kind of service droid."

"So why is it dressed like that?"  Mickey asked.

"Field trip to France, some kind of basic camouflage protocol," the Doctor said, putting on his glasses as he walked closer to examine it.  "Nice needlework! Shame about the face."  He pulled off the wig and mask to reveal the ornate clockwork mechanics inside the glass head.  Even Rose had to admit that, if they weren’t murdering monsters, they’d be quite breathtaking.  "Oh, you are beautiful!" the Doctor exclaimed, putting on his brainy specs as she and Mickey edged closer.  "No really, you are, you’re gorgeous! Look at that! Space age clockwork, I love it! I’ve got chills! Listen, seriously, I mean this from the heart—and, by the way, count those—it would be a crime, it would be an act of vandalism to disassemble you…But that won’t stop me," he finished, waving his sonic screwdriver at it.

The droid creaked back to life, and hit something on the inside of its wrist and teleported away.  The Doctor stuffed the screwdriver back into his pocket and walked back to the fireplace.

"Short range teleport," the Doctor said.  "Can’t have got far. Could still be on board—Don’t go looking for it!" he warned, pointing at them.

"Where’re you going?" Rose asked.  She didn’t want him to go.  He’d been much more…sympathetic to Reneitte after he’d gone back this time, even before he let her get into his head.

"Back in a sec," he said, and he was gone.

Rose stared at the fireplace for a minute, then shook her head.  “C’mon, big ship,” she said to Mickey, hefting the fire extinguisher.

"He said not to look for it," Mickey said.

"Yeah, he did," Rose said, her face blank.  Mickey looked back for a minute, then smiled and grabbed the other fire extinguisher.  "Now you’re getting it!"

She was _not_ just going to stand here while he did god knew what with Madame du Pompadour.

oOoOo

On the other side of the fireplace, the Doctor looked blankly at a room that looked vastly different from the one he’d just left.  The sun was shining, and the furniture had been rearranged.  He wondered how much time had passed for her…she’d said before it had been months, but it had only been a moment or two for him.

"Reinette," he called.  "Just checking you’re okay…"

Nothing.  He turned and took in the room again, idly brushing a hand against the strings of a harp.  Maybe more than months, then, this time.  A year?  Two?  He whirled when he heard someone clear their throat near the door.

"Oh! Hello!" he said to the young woman standing there.  He shoved his glasses back in his pocket and shifted uncomfortably.  "Um, I was just looking for Reinette. Uh, this is still her room, isn’t it? I’ve been away, not sure how long."

"Reinette! We’re ready to go!" came a voice from down the corridor.  The Doctor glanced at the door and then more closely at the young woman standing in front of him.

"Go to the carriage, mother, I will join you there," she said, a small smile on her face.  The Doctor gave a small bemused smile in return.  "It is customary, I think, to have an imaginary friend only during one’s childhood. You are to be congratulated on your persistence."

"Reinette," he said, his voice showing his surprise.  Far more than a year or two, then.  Blimey, talk about unreliable modes of transportation.  And Rose complained about _his_ driving.  “Well…Goodness, how you’ve grown,” he said, unable to think of anything else to say.

"And you do not appear to have aged a single day," she said, confused.  "That is tremendously impolite of you."

"Right…yes…sorry," he said.  _Story of my life._   “Listen, lovely to catch up, but er, better be off, eh? Don’t want your mother finding you up here with a strange man, do we?”  And he needed to get back before Rose got any ideas about looking for the service droid.  Mickey.  Mickey got ideas.  He shook himself when he realized Reinette was speaking.

"How could you be a stranger to me?" she was asking.  "I have known you since I was seven years old."

"Yeah…I suppose you have," he said with a chuckle. "I came the quick route."

He froze when Reinette reached out and touched his cheek.  ”Well, you seem to be flesh and blood, at any rate,” she said, a confused look on her face.  “But this is absurd. Reason tells me you cannot be real.”

"Oh, pfft…You never want to listen to reason…" he said ruefully.  He was starting to doubt the reasonableness of reason.

"Mademoiselle! Your mother grows impatient," a servant called from the corridor.

"A moment!" Reinette called back, annoyed.  "So many questions. So little time," she said, looking back at him.  Suddenly, she pulled his head down and kissed him hard on the lips while pushing him backwards so they both stumbled back to the mantelpiece.  The Doctor was too shocked to do anything at first.  It wasn’t…unpleasant…but it wasn’t…right.  He broke the kiss and pushed her gently back.

"Mademoiselle Poisson!" a servant called, closer now.

Reinette looked at him for a moment longer before spinning around, grabbing a bag from her dressing table and darting out the door.  The Doctor watched her go, still trying to process what had just happened.

Hold on.  “Poisson?” he asked out loud, then noticed the servant.  “Reinette Poisson?” The servant looked back at him, bemused.  “No…no, no, no, no, no way, Reinette Poisson?” he shouted, running up to the servant.  “Later Madame Etoiles? Later still mistress of Louis the Fifteenth, uncrowned Queen of France?” He spun, scratching at his head before running back to the fireplace.  “Actress, artist, musician, dancer, courtesan… _fantastic_ gardener!”

"Who the hell are you?"

"I’m the Doctor…imaginary friend of Madame du Pompadour!" he said with a laugh as he triggered the fireplace to rotate again. 

oOoOo

Rose followed slowly after Mickey, who was advancing through the ship like James Bond.  She wondered just how much of the ship was made of the crew at this point.  How many people had been killed and ripped apart to keep the place running?

"Look at this," Mickey said as she caught up with him.  She looked at the camera that was twisting towards them.  "That’s an eye in there. That’s a real eye."

The camera swung back to its original position, but Rose heard the heartbeat coming from nearby.  She crouched down and examined the circular cover, pulling at it quickly to avoid being burned. 

"What is that?" Mickey asked, peering inside.  "What’s that in the middle there? It’s like it’s wired in."

"That’s a heart, Mickey," Rose said in disgust.  "That’s a human heart.  Come on."

She got up and moved further down the corridor.  After another moment, Mickey followed, far more subdued.  He stayed silent for a few minutes as they paced through the corridors.

"Maybe it wasn’t a real heart," he suggested after a while.

"Course it was a real heart," she scoffed.

"Is this…like…normal for you?" he asked, looking around.  "Is this an average day?"

"I gave up normal a long time ago," remembering what she’d said to the Doctor after the Beatles concert, then winced.  They’d been talking about dating when she’d said that.  Now he flinched if she touched his shoulder, and barely spoke to her when it didn’t concern travel related topics.  She’d gotten him to open up more this time around, but now…now he was actively pushing her away, and she wasn’t sure how to fix it.  Especially with _Madame_ around.

"It’s France again," Mickey said, drawing her attention to a window they were passing.  "We can see France."

"I think we’re looking through a mirror," she said, stopping to watch as a man came in dressed in finery with two servants.

"Blimey, look at this guy," Mickey said, unimpressed.  "Who does he think he is?"

"King of France," the Doctor said suddenly from behind them.

"Oh, here’s trouble," Rose said, forcing brightness into her voice.  "What you been up to?"

"Oh, this and that," he said evasively as he watched the king approach the mirror.  "Became the imaginary friend of a future French aristocrat… picked a fight with a clockwork man…Oh, and I met a horse," he added as the horse whinnied and trotted into view.

He did _not_ mention that he’d been kissed by a courtesan, realizing that Rose would perhaps not see the humor in that so shortly after he’d re-established boundaries with her.  He also didn’t mention that he’d been a little disappointed in Reinette when he overheard the conversation about the cut-throat world of mistressing.  Young, beautiful, and coldly ambitious.  He’d take sweet, compassionate Rose any day of the week.  Not that he could have either, mind.  Just…he glanced down at Rose briefly.  If he could…he most definitely would take Rose over anyone else.

"What’s a horse doing on a spaceship?" Mickey asked, pulling the Doctor from his thoughts.

"Mickey, what’s pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship?" he shot back, annoyed with himself as much as Mickey.  "Get a little perspective," he added for both of them.  "See these? They’re all over the place. On every deck. Gateways to history. But not just any old history…Hers," he said, pointing to Reinette as she entered the room.  "Time window… deliberately arranged along the life of one particular woman. A spaceship from the fifty-first century stalking a woman from the eighteenth. Why?"

"Who is she?" Rose asked, proud that she was able to keep the touchiness out of her voice.

"Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson," he said in lecture mode.  "Known to her friends as Reinette. One of the most accomplished women who ever lived."

"So has she got plans of being the Queen, then?" Rose asked, looking up at him.  His eyes were trained on Reinette, and Rose felt the old jealousy rising in her.

"No, he’s already got a Queen," he said, shaking his head.  "She’s got plans of being his mistress.   I think this is the night they met. The night of the Yew Tree ball. In no time at flat, she’ll get herself established as his official mistress, with her own rooms at the palace… even her own title—Madame de Pompadour."

"Queen must have loved her," Rose said with a little sneer as Reinette preened in front of the mirror.

"Oh, she did," the Doctor replied, oblivious.  "They get on very well."

"The King’s wife and the King’s girlfriend?" Mickey asked in disbelief.

"France," the Doctor said dismissively.  "It’s a different planet."

They watched as Reinette whirled around to a figure standing in the corner of the room with its back to her.  She said something they couldn’t hear, then the figure turned around, showing itself to be one of the clockwork men.  The Doctor grabbed Mickey’s fire extinguisher and pushed past them, swinging the mirror out toward Reinette.

"Hello, Reinette," he said quickly as he walked past her. "Hasn’t time flown?"

"Fireplace man!" she exclaimed in surprise.

The Doctor quickly sprayed down the droid until it stopped moving, then threw the fire extinguisher back to Mickey.  The droid started clicking and whirring again, though, almost immediately.

"What’s it doing?" Mickey asked uncertainly.

"Switching back on," the Doctor said, moving closer to look at it.  "Melting the ice."

"And then what?" Mickey asked.

"Then it kills everyone in the room," he said, then jumped back as the droid’s arm shot out towards his throat.  "Focuses the mind, doesn’t it?  Who are you? Identify yourself," he ordered.  The droid cocked its head to one side but stayed silent.  "Order it to answer me," he said to Reinette.

"Why should it listen to me?" Reinette asked, perplexed.

"I don’t know," he said with a shrug, glancing back at her.  "It did when you were a child. Let’s see if you’ve still got it."

"Answer his question," Reinette said with authority, looking at the droid.  "Answer any and all questions put to you."

"I am repair droid seven," it said finally after dropping its arm.

"So what happened to the ship, then?" the Doctor asked.  "There was a lot of damage."

"Ion storm, eighty two percent systems failure," it replied.

"That ship hasn’t moved in over a year," he said.  "What’s taken you so long?"

"We did not have the parts," it explained tonelessly.

"Always comes down to that, doesn’t it?" Mickey said with a laugh.  "The parts."

"What’s happened to the crew, where are they?" the Doctor asked.

"We did not have the parts," the droid repeated.

"There should have been over fifty people on your ship," the Doctor insisted.  "Where did they go?"

"We did not have the parts," it repeated again.

"Fifty people don’t just disappear! Where—?" he stopped as horrifying realization dawned on him.  "Oh. You didn’t have the parts, so you used the crew."

"The crew?" Mickey asked, appalled.

"There was a camera with an eye in it…and a heart wired into machinery," Rose said slowly.  "Remember what the deck smelt of?"

"Someone cooking…" Mickey said, looking a little sick.

"Flesh plus heat," the Doctor said. "Barbeque.  It was just doing what it was programmed to. Repairing the ship any way it can, with whatever it could find. No-one told it the crew weren’t on the menu."  He paused, looking thoughtful.  "But what are you doing here? You’ve opened up time windows, that takes colossal energy. Why come here, you could have gone to your repair yard. Instead you come to eighteenth century France? Why?"

"One more part is required," the droid said, jerking it’s head at Reinette.  They turned to stare at her.

"Then why haven’t you taken it?" the Doctor asked quietly, looking back at the droid.

"She is incomplete," it replied.

"What…so, that’s the plan then?" the Doctor asked in disgust.  "Just keep opening up more and more time windows, scanning her brain, checking to see if she’s done yet?"

"Why her?" Rose blurted out.  The Doctor glanced at her.  "You’ve got all of history to choose from, why specifically her?"

"We are the same," the droid said.  Rose still had no idea what that meant.  Although, the words cold and heartless did spring to mind.

"We are not the same," Reinette cried.  "We are in no sense the same!"

"We are the same," the droid repeated.

"Get out of here!" Reinette yelled angrily.  "Get out of here this instance!"

"Reinette, no!" the Doctor cried, trying to stop her, but he was too late.  The droid activated its teleport and disappeared.  "It’s back on the ship. Rose, take Mickey and Arthur, get after it. Follow it, don’t approach it, just watch what it does."

"Mickey can go with the horse," Rose said.  "Which you’re not keeping, by the way."

"I let you keep Mickey!" he cried.  "But I need you in there.  You, I trust.  He might just scream and faint. Now go, go, go!"

Mickey shot the Doctor a dirty look, but ran back through the mirror panel.  Rose took another look at the Doctor, then shook her head and ran after Mickey.

The Doctor swung the mirror closed behind them before turning to Reinette.  “Reinette, you’re going to have to trust me. I need to find out what they’re looking for, there’s only one way I can do that. Won’t hurt a bit.”  She nodded, and the Doctor took a deep breath before raising his hands and pressing his fingers lightly against her temples.

Reinette eyes fluttered closed.  “Fireplace man… you are inside my mind.”

"Oh dear, Reinette," he breathed, surveying the evidence of haphazard brain scans.  "You’ve had some cowboys in here."

"You are in my memories," she said softly.  "You walk among them."

"If there’s anything you don’t want me to see, just imagine a door and close it," he instructed.  "I won’t look. Ooh..actually…there’s a door just there," he said, noticing a memory that…she really shouldn’t want him to see.  More seemed to crop up.  There was no reason for this, unless…oh dear.  "Reinette," he said sternly as he sidestepped these. 

"To walk among the memories of another living soul," she said, ignoring his comment.  "Do you ever get used to this?"

"I don’t make a habit of it," he replied.

"How can you resist?"

"What age are you?" he asked aloud when he realized what they were constantly searching for.

"So impertinent a question so early in the conversation," Reinette commented flirtatiously. "How promising."

"No, not my question," he clarified.  "Theirs. You’re twenty-three and for some reason, that means you’re not old enough."  Reinette flinched as he walked deeper into her mind.  "Sorry, you might find old memories reawakening. Side effect."

"Oh, such a lonely childhood," she moaned.

"It’ll pass. Stay with me," he urged.

"Oh, Doctor," she whispered.  "So lonely. So very, very alone, for so long."

"What do you mean, alone?" he scoffed.  "You’ve never been alone in your life—“  He stopped when her words registered, his eyes snapping open.  "When did you start calling me ‘Doctor’?"

"Such a lonely little boy," she said.  "A lonelier, broken man…but no longer.  My angel…you have an angel of your own."

"How did you do that?" he asked, stepping away from her quickly.  An angel?  Did she mean…she couldn’t possibly mean…

"A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction," she said.  "But there’s so much closed off, doors too agonizing to be opened, even by you…but not for her.  She’s seen so much of you, and healed so much more…yet you are still so afraid.  But afraid of what?"

The Doctor simply stared at her.  There was no way she should know any of that.  And the way she spoke of Rose…was painful, in the way only the truth can be.  Rose had changed so much of his life simply by not backing down from anything he threw at her.  He was a stronger man now, a better one, all because no matter what he did, no matter what he revealed, she was still there holding his hand.  He was slowly realizing that two feet of air and a moratorium on questions wasn’t going to change that…nor, he was shocked to note, did he want it to.  That…that was what he was scared of.  It wasn’t just losing her that terrified him.  It was the fact that, for the first time in an incredibly long time, someone seemed to care about him, not because he was a hero or a genius or different, not because what they could get from him, but just because he was _him_.  Given how much time he spent hating himself, he had absolutely no idea how to respond to that.

"Come, Doctor," Reinette said after a moment, taking his hand.  "We’re going to a ball."

"I can’t," he said quickly.  "This is the night you dance with the King."

"Then first, I shall make him jealous," she insisted, tugging on his hand.

"I can’t," he repeated, unsure of why she was being so adamant.

"Doctor…Doctor who?" she asked sadly, standing in front of him again. "It’s more than just a secret, isn’t it?"

"What did you see?" he asked, a little fearful now.

"That even a savior needs some time free of burden," she said.  "Come.  What is the point of time travel, Time Lord, if you are never allowed to enjoy it?"

He hesitated, her words sparking his natural curiosity about every time and place he visited.  “One dance,” he warned finally.  “Ten minutes, tops.”

She smiled in victory as she tugged him from the room.


	44. The Girl in the Fireplace (part 2)

Rose’s eyes fluttered open.  She dimly remembered the droids attacking her and Mickey not long after they had returned to the ship, knocking them out.  The face of one of the droids suddenly came into sharp focus above her. 

"Mickey, you alright?" she asked, raising her head.

"Rose?" Mickey called fearfully from the other table.  "They’re gonna chop us up. Just like the crew - they’re gonna chop us up and stick us all over their stupid spaceship. And where’s the Doctor? Where’s the precious Doctor now? He’s been gone for flipping hours, that’s where he is!"

"You are compatible," the Droid said.

"Wouldn’t be too sure of that, mate," she said quickly, trying to stall.  "Friend of mine might disagree.  He gets really touchy about people hurting his friends.  Bit overprotective, bless."  She gasped when the droid thrust a sharp and lethal looking tool at her face. 

"Rose, what are you _doing_?” Mickey asked.

"Thing is, he goes by the Doctor, but for you, the Mechanic from Hell would probably be more accurate," she went on, her voice strong.  "His only weapon is a sonic screwdriver…doesn’t that send a shiver to your clockwork heart?"

She had no way of knowing that the Doctor was quite close, filling a wine glass with anti-oil.  When he’d come back, he’d searched all around the ship before he realized what had happened to them.  When he did, he’d had to think quickly.  Now he was grinning delightedly at Rose’s tough talk.  She could show cheek in a nasty situation to rival even his.  He couldn’t have that…time for a grand entrance.

"You know, other species have a name for him," Rose said.  "They call him—“

"I could’ve danced all night, I could’ve danced all night…" came the Doctor’s singing voice from the corridor.

"You must be joking," Rose spat.  He had still danced with her.  Maybe _danced_ with her.  Damn him and that bloody French woman.

"And still have begged for moooore," he continued singing as he danced into the room, wearing sunglasses and his tie round his head.  "I could’ve spread my wings and done a thou—have you met the French?" he asked suddenly, as if everything was perfectly fine and they _weren’t_ in fact strapped to tables about to be chopped up for parts.  “My…GOD, they know how to party.”

"Oh, look at what the cat dragged in," Rose said sarcastically.  "The Oncoming Storm."

"Oh, you sound just like your mother," he said distastefully.

If she had been free she would have shown him that she could _slap_ like her mother too.  She was pretty sure he wasn’t actually drunk, but really, depending on what he’d been doing, that just made her more angry.  “What’ve you been doing?” she asked crossly.  “Where’ve you been?”

"Well…among other things, I think just invented the banana daiquiri a few centuries early," he said.  Rose flopped back down, exasperated.  "Do you know, they’ve never even seen a banana before!" he exclaimed, walking closer.  He leaned over her suddenly, and she wondered if the distance rule had been lifted because of sudden lack of distance between him and the Madame.  "Always take a banana to a party, Rose," he said sincerely.  "Bananas are GOOD."

Rose snorted.  He cocked an eyebrow at her, then looked up at the droids.

"Oh ho ho ho ho, brilliant," he said as if just now noticing them.  "It’s you! You’re my favorite, you are, you are the best! Do you know why? ‘Cause you’re so THICK. You’re Mister Thick Thick Thickity Thick Face from Thicktown, Thickania."  He turned away, then added as an afterthought, "And so’s your dad.

"Do you know what they were scanning Reinette’s brain for?" he asked, snickering as he wandered the room.  "Her milometer. They wanna know how old she is. Know why? ‘Cause this ship is thirty-seven years old. And they think that when Reinette is thirty-seven, when she’s ‘complete’, then her brain will be compatible. See, that’s what you’re missing, isn’t it?  Hmm? Command circuit. Your computer. Your ship needs a brain. And for some reason - God knows what - only the brain of Madame de Pompadour will do."

"The brain is compatible," the droid next to Rose said.

"Compatible?" he asked incredulously as he walked back over to it.  "If you believe that, you probably believe this is a glass of wine."  He removed the droid’s mask and poured the contents of his glass over the droid’s head.  "Multigrade anti-oil," he said, suddenly stone sober. "If it moves, it doesn’t."  Another droid tried to attack, but the Doctor slapped at a lever and shut down the lot.  "Right, you two, that’s enough lying about," he said, releasing the manacles holding them down with the sonic.  "Time we got the rest of the ship turned off."

"Are those things safe?" Mickey asked, eyeing them warily as he rubbed his wrists.

"Yep, safe," the Doctor said, pulling his tie back down from his head and pushing the glasses up to his hair.  "Safe and thick. Way I like them. Okay, all the time windows are controlled from here. I need to close them all down."  He muttered something about Zeus plugs and started feeling up his mildly disheveled suit.

"Why didn’t they just open a time window to when she was thirty-seven?" she asked.

"With the amount of damage to these circuits, they’ll be lucky to hit the right century," the Doctor said, messing with the computer.  "Trial and error after that. The windows aren’t closing. Why won’t they close?"

There was a musical ping in the air.

"What’s that?" asked Rose.

"I don’t know…incoming message?" he replied.

"From who?" Mickey asked.

"Report from the field…one of them must still be out there with Reinette," he said, frustrated. "That’s why I can’t close the windows, there’s an override!"

Behind him, the droid that he’d poured the anti-oil on sprang to life with a series of clicks and whirrs.  It expelled the anti-oil onto the Doctor’s shoe, who looked down disdainfully.

"Well, that was a bit clever," he said, his voice matching his face.  The rest of the droids suddenly sprang to life as the lever he’d knocked down earlier rose back into place.  "Right," he said, glancing around.  "Many things about this are not good." There was another pinging sound.  "Message from one of your little friends?" he asked the droid. "Anything interesting?"

"She is complete," it said. "It begins."

With that, all of them teleported out.

"What’s happening?" Rose asked.

"One of them must’ve found the right time window," he said.  "And now it’s time to send in the troops. And this time they’re bringing back her head.  Right, c’mon." He dashed out of the room, fixing his outfit the rest of the way as he ran.  He stopped in front of a tapestry and scanned it with his sonic.  "Right, okay, Rose, this should lead you to Reinette when she’s thirty-two.  You need to find her and warn her that they’re coming in five years."

"Why can’t you do it?" she asked testily.

"No time," he said.  "I’ve got to find the one leading to thirty-seven.  Tell her, when they come, to keep them talking.  They’re programmed to respond to her.  She can’t stop them, but hopefully she can delay them until I can get there."

"What if you can’t get there?" she asked hesitantly.

"I will," he said darkly, then pushed lightly on her shoulder.  "Go, not a lot of time.  Mickey, you’re with me."

He took off further into the ship with Mickey on his heels, leaving Rose staring after them for a moment.  This is what the Doctor does, she reminded herself.  He saves everyone.  Especially the people he loves.  She shook her head and took a deep breath.  She could deal with that later.  She pushed through the tapestry and walked down the hall toward a likely room.

"Madame de Pompadour," she said quietly, and the other woman gasped.  "Please, don’t scream or anything, we haven’t got a lot of time," she added quickly.  "I’ve come to warn you that they’ll be here in five years."

"Five years?"

"Some time after your thirty-seventh birthday," she said nodding.  "I um…I can’t give you an exact date. It’s a bit random. But they’re coming. It’s gonna happen. In a way, for us, it’s already happening. I’m sorry, it’s hard to explain. The Doctor does this better."

"Then be exact, and I will be attentive," Reinette said with authority.

"There isn’t time," Rose said, a little apologetically.  It really wasn’t her fault that all this was happening to her.  She didn’t have to like her, but she didn’t have to be completely rude either.

"There are five years," Reinette persisted. 

"For you," Rose said.  "I haven’t got five minutes."

"Then also be concise," Reinette said, sitting down and looking at her expectantly.

She took a deep breath.  “There’s a ship…somewhere, that has time windows opened in each of its rooms.  Each one is connected to a different part of your life.”

"There is a vessel in your world…where the days of my life are pressed together like the chapters of a book so that he may step from one to the other without increase of age…while I, weary traveller…must always take the slower path?" she asked, sounding a little angry.

"You’re quick, I’ll give you that," Rose mumbled.  Of course she was…she had to be extraordinary for the Doctor to…she pushed the thought away again.  She couldn’t deal with that yet.

"So, in five years these creatures will return," Reinette said.  "What can be done?"

"The Doctor says keep them talking," Rose told her.  "They’re programmed to respond to you now. You won’t be able to stop them, but you might be able to delay them a bit."

"Until?"

"Until the Doctor can get there," she said.

"He’s coming, then?"

"He promises," she replied, her voice shaking a little.

"But he cannot…make his promises in person?" Reinette asked.

"He’ll be there when you need him," Rose said.  "That’s the way it’s got to be."

"It’s the way it’s always been," Reinette said, sounding a little resigned.  "The monsters and the Doctor. It seems you cannot have one without the other."

"Tell me about it," Rose muttered.  "The thing is…you weren’t supposed to have either. Those creatures are messing with history. None of this was ever supposed to happen to you."

"Supposed to happen? What does that mean? It happened, child," she said.

"Look, there’s no need for that," Rose snapped, frowning.  "I’m trying to help.  Just like the Doctor."

Reinette eyed her speculatively.  “Well, I, for one, would not have it any other way. One may tolerate a world of demons for the sake of an angel.”

"Easy to say when he only shows up to save you," Rose countered, then looked away when Reinette’s eyes widened in surprise.  Fighting with her wouldn’t help anything, Rose reminded herself as she took a deep breath.  But it was really easy to claim to love someone when all she ever saw were brief flashes of his heroics…getting a wander inside his head notwithstanding.

"Rose? Rose?" Mickey’s voice came from the hall, pulling Rose from her thoughts, and she rushed out, Reinette close behind.  "The time window when she’s thirty-seven. We found it. Right under our noses."

"No, you can’t go in there," Rose said, reaching for Reinette as she made for the tapestry Mickey was standing in front of.  Too late, though.  They followed her in, where she was standing looking around apprehensively.

"So, this is his world," she said slowly.  They heard screaming in the distance.  "What was that?

"The time window," Mickey said.  "The Doctor fixed an audio link."

"Those screams…is that my future?"

"I’m so sorry," Rose said, shoving aside her resentment.

"Then I must take the slower path," she said unhappily.  They heard Reinette herself calling for the Doctor in the distance.  "That’s my voice."

"Rose, come on—we’ve gotta go," Mickey said urgently.  "There’s a problem.”

"I’ll be right there, go," Rose said to him.   "Are you okay?" she asked Reinette as Mickey ran away.

"No," Reinette said, shaking her head.  "I’m very afraid. But you and I both know, don’t we, Rose? The Doctor is worth the monsters."

_You have no idea_ , Rose thought sadly.  She nodded, and Reinette walked back through the tapestry.  Rose stood silently for a moment, then took a deep breath and went off to find the Doctor, dread mounting that this was one moment that would never change.

"You found it, then?" she asked when she found them, trying to sound bright.

"They knew I was coming," the Doctor said, dashing around the room.  "They blocked it off."

"So they can teleport without using the time windows," Rose said slowly.

"As long as the ship and the ballroom are linked, their short-range teleports will do the trick," he said, nodding.

"And we’re part of events, so we can’t use the TARDIS," she said.  The Doctor shook his head.

"Well, can’t we just smash through it?" Mickey asked.

"Hyperplex this side, plate glass the other," the Doctor said impatiently.  "We need a truck."

"We don’t have a truck," Mickey said redundantly.

"I know we don’t have a truck!" the Doctor shouted.

"You said it’s closed," Rose said.  "What would happen if you could get through?"

"There’d be no way back," the Doctor said, not looking up.  He thumped on the computer in frustration and cursed before bowing his head and going still for a moment.  Then he looked up sharply.  "Where’s Arthur?"

On cue, the horse whinnied from the corridor.

"Oh, brilliant!" the Doctor said, running to it.

"What are you going to do with that?" Mickey asked while Rose felt the ground opening up beneath her.

"We don’t have a truck," the Doctor said, mounting the horse.  "But we do have horsepower!"

He guided the horse into the room and in front of the time window.

"Doctor, you said you couldn’t get back," Rose said, her voice breaking.

"I can’t let her die," he said tersely. He took a breath and looked down at her for a moment, opening his mouth to say something, but no words came out.  He tore his gaze away and looked resolutely back at the window.  "Hyah!" he shouted, and galloped the horse towards, then through the window.  It shattered, leaving nothing but the wall on the other side.

"What happened?" Mickey asked.  "Where did the time window go? How’s he gonna get back?"

Rose simply stared at the wall.  She couldn’t even cry.  She couldn’t do anything.  She couldn’t believe, that after everything they’d gone though, all that they’d shared this time around, that he’d still left her stranded here.  She knew that at least part of this was to save history…but if that was all, he would have done _something_ to ensure their safety. She fingered the charms on her necklace.  He’d added mistletoe to it after Scotland; he’d said it was so she’d always be safe, no matter what she wandered into.  She’d deluded herself into thinking that this small change, this chain with its various charms, was a token of a growing affection.  Now, if he couldn’t get back, she couldn’t even take it off.

"We can’t fly the TARDIS without him," Mickey said after several minutes.  "How’s he gonna get back?"

Rose ignored him.  Even if the Doctor could get back like he had last time…she couldn’t do this again.  Not now.  Not like this.  It was bad enough when they had been dancing around in denial.  Now there was definitely something between them, and he’d pushed her away…only to run to a courtesan who’d seen into his mind.  He still hadn’t even given her a second’s thought before diving away onto the slow path with Reinette.  Even if he made it back…she wasn’t sure she could.

The TARDIS hummed gently, trying to comfort her.  _Keep faith, my Wolf.  Not everything is as it seems._

Rose looked up at the stars outside, so foreign and such a long way from home.  She couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking of now, so far away, with the one girl in all the universe who had the power to make him want to stand still.

oOoOo

The Doctor stared out the window at the stars, a wine glass forgotten in his hand.  Somewhere out there, three thousand years from now, Rose was stranded without him.  Because of him.  He’d had to leave.  History would have started to unravel around this night if Reinette had been taken.  Once again, the whole universe was in peril, and it came down to him to save everything…even if it meant losing everything.

He had realized not long after the droids had been disabled that there were things he could have done.  Of course there were.  He could have programmed the TARDIS to meet him at a certain time not long from now, after these events.  He could have initiated Emergency Program One to take Rose and Mickey home.  He could even have risked taking Rose on the horse with him as a last ditch effort.  But none of that entered his mind when he dove head first into a dead end.  Some part of him realized that this had, at least subconsciously, been completely on purpose.  Two feet wouldn’t keep him from wanting Rose.  Maybe a few millennia could.

He’d told her once that as long as he was breathing, he would come for her.  Well, he was still breathing…and the shards of that broken promise tore at him.

"You know all their names, don’t you?" Reinette asked quietly, approaching him. "I saw that in your mind. The name of every star."

"What’s in a name?" he asked lightly, suddenly remembering stargazing with Rose on Woman Wept before he gave her the necklace.  "Names are just titles. Titles don’t tell you anything."

"Like, ‘The Doctor’," she asked, with a sort of mock pompousness.

"Like, ‘Madame de Pompadour’," he countered with a small smile.

"I have often wished to see those stars a little closer," she said.  "Just as you have, I think."

"From time to time," he said softly.

_"Thanks for helping me reach the stars, Doctor."_ He swallowed hard at the memory.

"In saving me, you trapped yourself," she said.  "Did you know that would happen?"

"Pretty much," he said, trying to sound casual, but not pulling it off well.

"Yet, still you came," she observed.

"Yeah, I did, didn’t I?" the Doctor said, forcing another small smile.  "Catch me doing that again."

"There were many doors between my world and yours," she said.  "Can you not use one of the others?"

"When the mirror broke, the shock would have severed all the links with the ship," he explained. "There’ll be a few more broken mirrors and torn tapestries around here, I’m afraid. Wherever there was a time window. I’ll—I’ll, er…pay for any damage."  He rattled on, trying to keep from thinking of _her_.  “Um… oh, that’s a thought, I’m gonna need money. I was always a bit vague about money. Where do you get money?”

"So, here you are," she said.  "My angel. Stuck on the slow path, with me."

"Yep. The slow path."  He turned back to the stars and took a sip of wine.  He felt Reinette’s eyes on him, but couldn’t bring himself to look at her again.

"It seems, however, that while I would have enjoyed the slow path with you, I have outlived my need for an angel," she said slowly.  Now he did glance at her, a little curiously.  "You, however…still very much need yours."

"Yeah,” he said, looking away again as his eyes burned.  "But I’m not going anywhere."

"Oh, aren’t you?" she asked, her own voice breaking just slightly.  She took a breath and set her wine glass down.  "Take my hand."

She took his hand and led him out of the room and down the corridor to her own rooms.  There, in all its glory, was the fireplace from her childhood.  The Doctor gaped at it, hardly daring to breathe in fear it would disappear. 

"It’s not a copy," she said.  "It’s the original. I had it moved here and was exact in every detail."

"The fireplace," he said softly, walking slowly toward it.  "The fireplace from your bedroom. When did you do this?"

"Many years ago," she responded.  "In the hope that a door once opened, may someday be opened again. One never quite knows when one needs one’s Doctor."  He gave her a small incredulous smile, which she returned a little sadly.  "It appears undamaged, do you think it will still work?"

"You broke the bond with the ship when you moved it," he said, thinking quickly.  "Which means it was off-line when the mirror broke. That’s what saved it. But…" he trailed off, moving closer.  If this worked, if he could get back to her, then he was through with his obsession with distance.  Distance could hang.  He just wanted Rose back, in whatever way he could safely have her.  "The link is basically physical, and it’s still physically here.  Which might just mean, if I’m lucky," he said, tapping the wood around the mantel.  "If I’m very, very, very, very, very, very lucky…Aha!" he cried, suddenly beaming when he heard the telltale pop.

"What?" she asked.

"Loose connection!" he cried happily, whipping out his sonic screwdriver and pointing it at the spot.  "Need to get a man in!" He banged on it, and heard the slight electronic hum as the connection was made.  "Wish me luck!" he said happily.

"No," Reinette blurted out, tears in her eyes.

The Doctor’s grin faded as he spun away from her.  She believed she loved him.  What was a few hours for him was a lifetime with her, girlhood infatuation changing into a sort of hero-worship that combined with pity when she’d seen his mind, and, despite seeing what Rose meant to him, she had believed she loved him.  Enough to save him, even though that meant saying goodbye.

She really was extraordinary.  He couldn’t return her love, but he could take her to see the stars.

"Madame de Pompadour!" he called, crouching down to look through the fireplace. He smiled when she knelt on the other side.  "Still wanna see those stars?

"More than anything," she breathed.

"Give me two minutes," he said.  "Pack a bag!"

"Am I going somewhere?"

"Go to the window," he said. "Pick a star. Any star."

oOoOo

Rose stood up quickly when she heard the sound of chucks racing toward them.  He didn’t even pause before racing across the room and pulling her into a spinning hug.

"How long did you wait?" he asked.

"Five and a half hours," she gasped, torn between giddy relief and riotous anger.

"Right, always wait five and a half hours," he said, releasing her quickly.

"Where’ve you been?" she asked tersely, anger winning out.

"Explain later," he said, not appearing to notice her tone.  "Into the TARDIS, be with you in a sec."

Mickey immediately turned to the TARDIS, but Rose watched to Doctor dart back to the fireplace and spin away again.  A part of her felt a pang of sympathy for the pain he was about to feel when he learned that Reinette had died before he got back to her, but the rest of her seethed.  She hadn’t said anything last time.  He’d looked so broken hearted that she had simply let it go, especially since she had no real claim over him anyway.  She might not really have a claim over him now, but they were still…closer.  Before he had pushed her away and then left her in favor of a woman he knew for a few hours, just because she was of a higher breed and had the fortune to see into his mind.

She set her jaw and banged into the TARDIS.  Mickey gave her a startled look, but she just shook her head and sat down, waiting for the Doctor to return.  When he finally did, she recognized the bowed head and the weary gait.  He was heartbroken.  But then, so was she.

"Why her?" she asked, standing.

"I don’t know," he sighed.  Then he continued, clearly misinterpreting her question.  "There was massive damage in the computer memory base. Probably got confused."

He was moving slowly, but still tapping away at the console as if he was fine.  Well, he could pretend all he wanted.  She couldn’t anymore.

"No, Doctor," she said.  "Why her?"  He looked up at her, confused.  "Why was she worth it?  What made her worth more than—“ she stopped, choking on her words.

He stared at her, stunned.  “Rose—“

"No, you know what, it doesn’t matter anymore," she said suddenly, wiping angrily at the tears that had fallen.  "You said you needed distance, Doctor.  Well, you’ve got it.  All the distance you want."

His jaw dropped as she stormed down the corridor.  He had been upset when he was stuck, and so happy he got back, it never occurred to him how she might have seen what he did.  He couldn’t help but wonder what Reinette had said to her, but realized quickly it didn’t matter.  His actions spoke louder than any words could have.  She thought he’d left her for Reinette.

"Well done, mate," Mickey said.  "You’re finally making the rest of us look good."  He shook his head and headed after Rose.  The Doctor followed when the shock wore off, knocking desperately on her door, but any attempt he made to get her to talk to him was met with stony silence until she finally yelled at him to leave her alone.

He walked slowly back to the console room.  He’d decided to say sod off to all his reason and rules, and now she wanted nothing to do with him.  It hadn’t been any of his demons that finally pushed her away after all.  He had no one to blame but himself.  He slowly took off his coat and collapsed onto the jump seat.  Reinette’s letter stuck out from inside his jacket.  He pulled it out and stared at it for a moment before opening it.

_My Dear Doctor,_

_The path has never seemed more slow, and yet I fear I am nearing its end. Reason tells me that you and I are unlikely to meet again. But I think I shall not listen to reason. I have seen the world inside your head, and know that all things are possible. I know, however, that while my heart will forever belong to you, yours is in the hands of another, and, I believe, hers with you.  If you cannot be here and cannot accept my love, accept hers.  She has saved you more completely than you even saved me.  You rescued me merely from death, while she rescued you from a broken and tortured life._

_I think that I will not yet give up hope of seeing you again, for you promised me the stars.  Hurry though, my love. My days grow shorter now, and I am so very weak. God speed, my angel._


	45. In the Arms of an Angel

The Doctor was irritated.  More than irritated.  He was starting to get distinctly annoyed, even more so because he felt completely powerless, which was not a position he liked to be in.  Mind as big as his, he could always think of a plan.  But he couldn’t think of anything to rectify this situation, and it was hurting him more every day.

Six days.  Six days since Rose had declared that he could have all the distance he wanted.  And she was making good on it.

The day it happened, after Mickey had gone to bed, he’d heard a knock on his door, and been thrilled, hoping she was ready to talk…but all she’d wanted was for him to take her necklace off.  That had nearly broken him right then, but he’d done it.  She hadn’t said that she wanted to go home, and he hadn’t asked, terrified that merely voicing the question would solidify her answer.  Since then, when they were in the TARDIS, if he entered a room she was in, she usually found something that needed doing elsewhere, and when they were forced together, both inside the TARDIS and out exploring, she was coldly, painfully civil to him.  He would almost rather have her rage at him and get it over with than this distance she was maintaining.  But then, he _had_ been the one to set the rule in the first place.  He _should_ be happy about this.  Everything about their relationship was wrong.  They needed to define the lines that had gotten blurred.  They couldn’t be anything more than friends.  They couldn’t.  Logically, it made sense that sooner or later, the ice queen routine would be worn down, and they’d be friendly again, but never, ever get as close as they had been.  And that should be a good thing.

Unfortunately, while all of this made total and complete sense, it was absolutely the last thing he wanted.  Since France, Reinette’s words had been echoing around in his head, and he remembered the pain he felt when he thought he wouldn’t get back to Rose sharply.  He wanted to be close to her again.  He wanted to hold her and cuddle with her…maybe even _occasionally_ kiss her.  He wanted to fight with her, and laugh with her, and share things that neither of them could share with anyone else.  He wanted to go back to being the Doctor and Rose, the way it should be, as tragic as it might have been.  He just couldn’t bring himself to explain that to her.

At the moment, he was sitting at the table in the kitchen, tinkering with the toaster…again.  It took his mind off how incredibly thick he could be sometimes.  He looked up over his brainy specs when Mickey walked in, but quickly looked back down and shook his head when Mickey glared at him.  Who the hell was Mickey Smith to judge him?  He continued tinkering while Mickey puttered for a moment, then, out of the corner of his eye, saw the boy stop and lean against the counter, staring at him.

“Something you needed, Mickey?” he asked, not looking up.

“You know what kills me,” Mickey said, as if they had been carrying on a conversation, “is that she still won’t look at anyone else twice.”

The Doctor decided that this was not worth responding to.  What was going on with Rose went far beyond Mickey’s petty jealousy.

“Thing is, I’m pretty sure she thinks you’re a complete ass,” Mickey continued.  “And I’m definitely not one to disagree with her on that fact.”

The Doctor glanced up at him but stayed silent.  After all, what was he going to say?  What he’d done definitely could be summed up as an act by a complete ass.

“And she dumped me for you,” Mickey said with a disbelieving laugh.  “Maybe I couldn’t show her the stars, but I definitely wouldn’t’ve left her stranded to get my jollies on with some other girl, King’s mistress or not.”

“I…I don’t…I didn’t ’get my jollies on’ with her…” the Doctor said looking up, but then sighed and shook his head again and returned his attention to the toaster.  Sooner or later, Rose would talk to him.  He’d explain himself to her, and only her.  Mickey could hang.

“If you say so, but you still left her, didn’t you?” Mickey asked.  “You took her away and made her fall in love with you, and then you left her for a girl you knew for a few hours, just ‘cause she got to read your mind.”

“Leave it, Mickey,” the Doctor said, his voice a low warning as his tinkering stopped.

“No chance,” Mickey persisted.  “’Cause the way I see it, you don’t deserve her, ‘cause you never cared about her.  You just loved what a big man she made you feel like, all awestruck and doe eyed.  You never gave a shit about her or what she wanted, just as long as you had someone around to be cleverer than.  You used her to boost your own ego, and then you left her, ‘cause you found someone else who could be even more amazed and sympathetic after you let her into your head.”

“Don’t you _dare_ presume to know how I feel about _anything_ , Mickey Smith,” the Doctor said finally, jumping up from his chair and striding over to him, ripping the specs off his face.  “You don’t even have the capability of understanding what would have happened to the universe had that woman not been saved, if I hadn’t risked EVERYTHING to save her.  As for Rose, if you really think she would have stood for that kind of treatment, you know absolutely nothing about her, nothing at all.  You don’t know me, so I don’t care what you might believe about me, but I will NOT allow you to talk about her that way.  Rose has given me more than anyone in this entire universe, just by existing, and continuing to exist, no matter how much danger I put her in, no matter what she finds out about me, no matter even how I hurt her, given that she _still_ hasn’t asked to go home.  And for all of that, everything that she is, NO ONE in this universe is even comparable to her, much less worth more than her to me.”

“Then what the hell are you doing in here talking to me?” Mickey asked.

The Doctor stared at him, stunned.  “Mickey Smith,” he said quietly with a chuckle.  “You are a genius.”

“Yeah, and don’t you forget it,” he heard the boy call after him as he made his way quickly out of the room and down the hall.

The Doctor finally found Rose in the media room, inexplicably watching a video biography of Charles Dickens.

_“Late in life, Mister Dickens seemed to turn a new leaf.  After a Christmas spent in Cardiff, he returned to London a changed man.  In the last year of his life, he dedicated time to his friends and family that had fallen by the wayside in his rise to fame.  When asked about the sudden change in priorities, he is remembered to have said, ‘It is from ghosts and wanderers that men may see truths’.”_

“Ah, the good old times,” he heard Rose murmur.  “Eh, Charlie boy?  It was all a bit more straightforward then.”

For a second, he was transported back to Cardiff.  He remembered her fighting tooth and nail against him and his guilt, and losing.  But she still held his hand so tightly in that cellar dungeon, even while she was choking herself with gas to save them.  She’d looked pale and so still, her lips tinged with blue when she was lying in the snow, and even then he felt like he was losing something precious if she slipped away from him.  He realized only now that he had lost the fight for distance between them long before he was even aware it had started.

He made his way quickly to where she was sitting and grabbed the remote from her, flicking off the television before turning to her.

“Alright, I’m done,” he said.  “Enough with the ice queen routine.  Talk to me.”

“Won’t that violate your distance rule?” she asked with a bitter smirk.

“Forget the distance rule,” he said evenly.  “That’s gone.  Chucked.  It was stupid in the first place.  Talk to me, Rose…please.”

“No, Doctor,” she said, standing up.  “No, you don’t get to push me away, and then run off with some French mistress and expect me to be alright.  It doesn’t work like that.”

“I’m not expecting anything,” he said softly.  “I just want you to talk to me.  Tell me what to do to fix this, please, because I don’t know.”

“You said the distance rule was supposed to fix us,” she reminded him, and he groaned, pacing away.  “What do you want, Doctor?  How do you want us fixed now?”

The Doctor ran his hands through his hair.  He didn’t know what to tell her.  What he wanted he could never have, and what he could have wasn’t nearly enough.  But…he could try to assure her of one thing.

“Rose, I didn’t leave you for her,” he said, turning to face her again.

“Oh, spare me,” she said acidly.  “You knew that portal was a dead end.  You took off through it anyway.  All so you could give her the slow path.  The beautiful, cultured courtesan who you just couldn’t help falling for after she got a look around your mind and saw everything you are but never say.  You _danced_ with her while we were on the dissecting table to get chopped up for parts, and then you ran to save her no matter what that meant for Mickey and me.  And then, AND THEN, you came back just to invite her along.  And I saw your face, Doctor…after she died, you were devastated.  You fell for her and you abandoned us for her, more than once.  Never even factored in for you, did I?  You’d already pushed me away into another universal quadrant, supposedly because _I_ was the temporary one.  I really thought that we—but you proved that quite wrong.  At least now I know where I rate.”

The Doctor stared at her.  He knew he’d hurt her, and badly, but he was stunned that she could have gotten everything so completely wrong.  No wonder she was so angry…no wonder Mickey had looked ready to deck him.

“Rose…” he floundered, not sure how or where to start explaining himself.

“Just save it,” Rose sighed.  “You don’t have to explain.  I get it, I do.  I hate it…but I get it.”

“No, you really don’t,” he said quietly.  “I didn’t leave because I wanted the slow path with her.  I left because history would have unraveled around that night if she hadn’t been saved.  The whole universe would have suffered.  Admittedly, I handled the situation in the worst way imaginable, possibly due to deep seated psychological issues, and Rose, I cannot say enough how sorry I truly am about that.  As for dancing…I really wasn’t gone that long.  And I certainly didn’t _dance_ with her.  But then I was looking all over the ship for you, and then I had to come up with some kind of plan to distract them.  I really did think you would realize that…but, given the circumstances, I can see how that might not have been entirely clear to you.  I invited her along because she found me a way back, and because she really was extraordinary, and I wanted to repay her somehow.  And then when she died…I was sad, yes.  Disappointed, most assuredly.  But not devastated.”  He stepped closer to her, looking intently in her eyes.  “I was devastated when I thought I was stuck in France, when I thought I broke my promise to always come for you.”

She looked up at him, starting to look more confused than angry.  “But…she saw into your mind, she saw everything.”

“No, not everything,” he said.  “One stroll wouldn’t reveal everything in anyone’s mind, much less one as big and old and locked tight as mine.  You want to know what she saw?” he asked softly when she looked away.  He grasped her jaw tenderly, tilting her face back up.  “She saw a lonely boy, and a broken man, and the amazing woman who healed them both.”  Her eyes widened.  “You’ve seen more of me than Reinette ever could.  You have opened so many doors and healed so many wounds, just by being you.  Wonderful, brilliant you.  There is absolutely nothing in this universe that rates higher than you.  Rose…she thought I was her angel, but what she saw in my mind was mine.”

He moved his hand up to her cheek, brushing at a tear as it fell.  He studied her for a moment before lowering his head and pressing his lips softly to hers.  The kiss was brief, but he hoped it said what he needed it to.

“You really did chuck the distance rule,” she said after a moment.

“I really did,” he assured her.  “It was an exercise in futility, and I hated it before we even _got_ to that ridiculous spaceship.  You were right the first time: two feet of air isn’t going to make a difference.”

“Then why did you do it?” she asked.  “Why did you push me away?”

“Because…I don’t do this,” he said slowly, eyes roving as he backed up a step.  “I don’t get close to people.  Not like this.  I don’t do vulnerable well, and I’m not used to one person knowing so much about me, much less…well…still wanting to be around me.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said firmly, repeating her argument from before.

He had dumped quite a lot of his own personal tragedy on her, and then he’d turned around and hurt her terribly, first by pushing her away, then by allowing her to think that she was somehow less important to him than a woman he knew for a few hours…and she was still here.  He couldn’t ignore that anymore.  Despite everything that logic dictated about her short lifespan and the things she would eventually want out of that life…a part of him, the part that was cheering every time she slipped a little further past his defenses, absolutely believed her.

“I’m starting to get that, yeah,” he said slowly, before grabbing her round the waist and pulling her to him.  She hugged him back tightly, burying her face in his neck, and he shivered, loving the feel of her in his arms again.  “I’m so sorry, Rose,” he said softly.

“Don’t _ever_ do that to me again,” she whispered after a moment.

“Promise,” he said earnestly.  “I think we’ll just avoid France altogether for a while, if that’s alright.”

“Deal,” she said with a chuckle as she pulled back.  “So…no more rules?” she asked with a calculating look.

He swallowed hard.  “I wouldn’t go that far,” he squeaked, then cleared his throat.  “Let’s just say they’re severely relaxed.”

“That’s an oxymoron,” she said with a teasing grin.

“Deal with it,” he growled.  “Did you…um…do you still want your necklace?” he asked hesitantly after another moment.  She bit her lip and nodded.

“I’m sorry that I—“

“Don’t you dare apologize,” he said quickly as he took the chain from his pocket.  “I deserved it.  Probably more, really.”  He slipped the chain around her neck, leaning in close to clasp it behind her.  She examined the new charms that he’d affixed to it as he pulled away.

“You added more?” she asked.  “Even when I avoided you?”

He shrugged and looked away.  “Couldn’t help it.  There were still things I wanted you to have…even if you didn’t want them yet.”

She studied him for a moment—probably seeing everything he wasn’t saying, as usual—before looking down again.  “Wings?”

“Angel wings,” he said, nodding.  She smiled shyly.

“And these?” she asked, fingering the tiny, delicate spray of blue and yellow flowers.

“Forget me nots,” he said softly.  He was taken aback when her eyes suddenly filled with tears, wondering what he’d done to make her cry now.  But then she threw her arms around his neck, and he decided it couldn’t be all bad.  So he threw caution to the wind and pulled back far enough to let his lips descend on hers again, deepening the kiss without hesitation—and  that voice in the back of his head went ballistic.

Maybe he was Icarus, flying them ever closer to the sun and praying that his wings wouldn’t melt, but he couldn’t keep up the façade with her anymore.  There were still rules.  There had to be.  Because she was still human and he was still a Time Lord.  There was still so much that they couldn’t do, so much they couldn’t have.  But even if he couldn’t give her everything, he could at least stop torturing both of them by pretending that he didn’t want to.


	46. Welcome to the Fallout

The Doctor was relishing in some alone time with Rose.  Mickey was playing the Playstation in the media room, while Rose was reading in the captain’s seat as he worked on the console.  She was still…quiet, since the whole France fiasco, but at least she was spending time with him again.  He was confident that, given enough time, she would sort out the rest of her issues and they would be fine again.

As he passed near her on his way around the console, he lifted the cover of the book in her lap.  He shook his head when he saw it was a physics textbook.  This wasn’t the first time he’d found her reading something difficult like this.  She had spent quite a lot of time in the library during their distance period, and he’d found her pouring over any number of heavier reading materials, from all different genres.  For some reason, it bothered him immensely.

“Why?” he asked simply, dropping the cover again.

“Curiosity,” she said without looking up from what appeared to be extensive notes on her other knee.

“People look things up in dictionaries or on the internet when they’re curious,” he said, leaning back against the console and casually tossing the part in he was holding from one hand to the other.  “They don’t actually sit down and read textbooks.”

“You do,” she pointed out.

“Oh, well, yeah, _I_ do,” he said with a shrug.  “But…I’m not people.”

She looked up at him, her eyes narrowing slightly, but then she shook her head.  “If travelling with you has taught me one thing, it’s that I need at least a working knowledge of some of this stuff to keep up with you.”

“I never asked you to do that,” he said with a frown.  “You don’t need to do that for me.”

“I’m not,” she said.  “I’m doing it for me.  You’re not the only one that can be slightly obsessive in your curiosity.  And it can only help in the future.”

He tilted his head to the side, and she mirrored him and made a face, making him smile.

“Fine, read what you want,” he said, straightening up and going back to his work on the console.  “Far be it from me to tell you to act more human.”

“You don’t think I act human?” she asked, sounding startled.

“Not human enough,” he said distractedly.  “Never have.  That’s why I like you, though,” he said, looking up again with a grin.  “Rose Tyler, singular specimen.  Totally human, but so, so much more.”

She made an odd face, but then smiled.  “That’s me, human 2.0.”

“Exactly,” he said with a grin, looking down again.

Rose watched him carefully.  In the days that she maintained distance from him, she’d had a sudden sickening realization.  She saw something in him that had never occurred to her before…there was a reason why it had been so easy to leave Jack behind, why he had been able to send her away at Canary Wharf, and, more recently, why he’d pushed her away—no matter how much he cared about people, he always kept his own ego between them and him, manipulating and controlling the people around him so that he could push them off when it was necessary.  It lessened the already immeasurable amount of guilt he carried all the time, and it kept anyone from getting too close.  It worried her, this compulsive need he had to control how she thought and felt and acted, because that was part of a larger problem of needing to fix the universe the way he saw fit.  Sooner or later, that would end badly, because the universe wouldn’t always agree with his definitions.  It also meant that, no matter how much he might care about her, he would never respect her.  He couldn’t.  Even if she could live as long as him, he would never actually see her as a permanent fixture.  He would still try to send her away if he thought there was something better for her.  He would never allow himself to be on equal footing with another person…it put him too much at risk.  But she couldn’t do this with anymore…not now, and certainly not forever.  She couldn’t simply sit by and wait for him to push her away again, whether it was out of fear or for what he believed was her own good.  Maybe she still looked like a kid, but she didn’t think or feel like one anymore, and she couldn’t be a passenger in her own life anymore, regardless of how much was left…and she loved him too much to let him continue to wall himself off from everything.

“Would it really bother you so much if you didn’t have to explain _everything_ to me, Doctor?” she asked quietly after a moment.

“I never said that,” he replied, but stiffened slightly.

“You didn’t have to,” she said, and he heard her stand up and walk closer.  “It’s just…sort of assumed, isn’t it?”

The Doctor suddenly felt an inexplicable wave of panic hit him, and stepped away as he faced her, burying his hands in his pockets, his face guarded.  She was studying him, her head tilted to the side, as if she was trying to work out a particularly difficult equation.

“That’s all part of the Doctor package, isn’t it?” she asked after a moment.  “So keen to lecture, because if you’re the cleverest, then you can automatically assume control over the situation, and that’s where you’re thrive.  You hate it when other people are in control.”

The Doctor was now distinctly uncomfortable.  He was used to Rose getting in his head to draw out information, but it was always in the ways of questions, him revealing little bits of himself in measured doses.  This…was different.  This wasn’t Rose seeing that there was more to be said…this was Rose seeing what he refused to acknowledge.  He took another step back.

“That’s…that’s not true,” he said, a little weakly.  “I mean…look at how many situations we’ve been in that I would have been doomed if it wasn’t for the help of others.”

“Others who fulfilled assignments you gave them,” she pointed out gently.  “Having help just means you had more strings to pull.”

“So, what, you just think of me as the puppet master then?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Sometimes,” she replied calmly.

He stared at her.  Her arms were crossed, but not in a stiff, defensive way, and she was leaning casually on the console with her hip.  She exuded complete calm, and it was maddening.  Which made no sense, because he shouldn’t be feeling this panicky.  That’s not how he was.  At all.  Sure, he might be the one to come up with plans most of the time, but that wasn’t because he _needed_ to.  It was just because…well…who else would?

“So is that why you’ve been indulging in such heavy reading lately, Rose?” he asked in a low, slightly mocking tone.  “So you can be the one to come up with the plan next time?”

“No,” she said, still completely calm.  “That’s just because I’m interested.  I’ve seen enough with you that I’d like to know how some of it works for myself.  But…why would it bother you so much, Doctor?”

“It wouldn’t!” he said, turning and moving around the console.  “Please, come up with the plan!  Save me the effort.  It’s about time someone else managed to save the universe.”

“See, you say that, but you don’t mean it,” she said.  “You need to be the one to save the day.  You need to be the one with the plan.  You need to be in control.  Because if you don’t have control, then you’re vulnerable.  And like you said, you don’t do vulnerable well.”

“Don’t try to psychoanalyze me, Rose Tyler,” he said darkly.

“Or what?” she asked.  _Still_ with absolute serenity.  He was practically vibrating with tension, and she was completely at peace.  “Will you push me away again?  Because that’s what it was, wasn’t it, Doctor?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, his eyes wide.

“Yes, you do,” she replied.  “You lost control.  Just for a minute.  But you did.  You had a nightmare, and you were falling apart.  And I pressed you.  And you told me things you never meant to, your sins and pain, and you did it as punishment.  You were _trying_ to make me afraid of you, simply because I wouldn’t leave you alone when you didn’t have your armor to protect you, just to reinstate your control over the situation.”

“Stop it, Rose,” he said quietly, backing away.

In his head, he was screaming at himself.  _Stop it, Time Lord!  You’re better than this.  She’s Rose Tyler, shop girl from Earth, she can’t say anything to hurt you.  There is no possible way that you can actually be **afraid** of what a little human might be saying._

But he was.  He was terrified.  Because she was turning the tables on him.  She was supposed to be his source of absolution, not the one pointing out his flaws.

“But it backfired, didn’t it?” she continued, completely disregarding his discomfort.  “You tried to punish me for taking advantage of the situation, you tried to control my perception of you and drive me away before I could get any closer, but you got words you never wanted to hear instead.  You got forgiveness, and you got relief, and you got the assurance that even in your darkest moments, you’re still a hero to me.  And that absolutely terrified you.”

“So is that why you did it then?” he spat.  “Did you give me words you didn’t mean in order to hurt me?”

“You know I didn’t,” she said.  Her voice was still even, while he wanted to scream.  How dare she throw accusations at him that set him trembling, and still remain standing there with complete ease?  He was a _Time Lord_.  No one should be allowed to speak to him this way.  “I told you the absolute truth.  And that’s what scared you.  What I said was bad enough.  The fact that I really believe it is a catastrophe.  So you pushed me away.  You took away my right to ask questions.  Because I already knew too much.  Your precious little world of plausible deniability was crumbling, because you were losing control around me.  So you did what you do best: you ran.  You ran from me, and you ran into a dead end, just to keep yourself safe.”

“What does any of this have to do with you reading a physics book?” he asked, striking out for some sort of sanity before he lashed out at her.  He wanted sweet, kind Rose back.  Perceptive Rose was…wrong.  This shouldn’t happen.

“It’s all part of the same thing, Doctor,” she said quietly.  “You know I’m never going to rival you in knowledge, but me even reading a book sets you on edge.  I believe that you…care about me.  That you trust me, to some extent.  You wouldn’t have told me the things you have if you didn’t.  You wouldn’t be as comfortable with me as you are, in ways you can’t be with anyone else.  But you still believe you’re above me.”

“That’s because I am,” he said suddenly, without thinking.  Her eyebrows arched, the first sign of something other than absolute calm.  “I…that’s not…that’s not what I meant…”

_Why not?_ said a sinister voice in his head.  _It’s the absolute truth.  You’re a Time Lord, so far above humanity they should be lucky to even see your face.  They should see you as something close to divine, a savior.  Not one of them will ever be your equal._

No…no.  That’s not how it should be.  He might be clever…but he wasn’t better.  He’d destroyed too much.

_Exactly_ , the dark voice said.  _Rose Tyler is aware of your talent for destruction, and yet you choose to help instead.  She should be worshipping you, not calling you into question._

That wasn’t right either, though.  He didn’t want Rose to worship him.  That was part of what he loved about her.  That it wasn’t about what he could be for her, be it savior, or warrior, or knight in shining armor…she cared about _him_ , the madman in a box. 

_If she truly cared,_ the dark voice hissed, _she wouldn’t be questioning you._

She was still watching him silently while the battle raged in him.  She didn’t lash out at his words, simply regarded him calmly.  Once again, her stillness set his nerves on fire.

“This is who I am, Rose,” he said stiffly.  “I _am_ the cleverest one in the room, I _am_ the one who comes up with the plans, and if you can’t accept that for some reason, then maybe you shouldn’t be here at all.”

“Is that really what you want?” she asked, and the tenuous hold he had on his temper shattered.

“Stop it!” he yelled.  “Just stop it!  You don’t get to call me into question, Rose Tyler!  I’m a Time Lord, I’m the _last_ of the Time Lords.  I saw worlds rise and fall before you were a glint in your father’s eye.  Every waking second, I can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not.  No one else in the entire universe is my equal.”

“And that makes it so, so easy to stay separate,” she said quietly.  “Safe and secluded from everyone else.  You’re aware of that, and you use that as your right to control everyone, even me.  Because if you let go of that…if you allow your definition of capability to stretch to someone beyond you…it all falls apart.  You need to control everyone and everything, because if you don’t, then you can’t keep track of who might be getting too close.  You need to be the hero, the warrior, the savior, because you’ve been running so long, you don’t know how to be anything else.”

“I can’t _be_ anything else!” he shouted.  “I haven’t got anything else!  My mind and my ability to use it against the stupidity and the arrogance that threaten to destroy everything are all I’ve got!  And I have to be above you, Rose, because you can never, ever last, and if I’m not above you, I can’t stop myself from—“ He froze, suddenly horrified at the things he was saying and revealing.

She studied him for a moment, then approached him warily.  His body was practically creaking with tension as, once again, she put her hand on his chest right between his hearts.

“Don’t you get tired, Doctor?” she asked softly.  “Don’t you ever get tired of being everybody’s Superman?  Of being alone?  Of keeping everyone at arm’s length, of keeping up with what each person who’s come in contact with you knows about you, meticulously keeping track so no one person knows too much?  I know you’re terrified of me knowing as much as I do, because I can’t last forever.  But Doctor, neither can you.  You can’t keep doing this to yourself forever.  You can’t control everything all the time, and you can’t keep running from yourself or your past.  And you can’t keep running from me.  You said yourself that I already know so much more about you than you’ve let anyone else.  And Doctor…I have a secret.”  She leaned up close to his ear.  “I _do_ know you, even these things that you don’t say, that you’re so afraid of, and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…but I love you anyway.”

His hearts hammered in his chest and his breath was shallow as she pulled back to look him in the eyes again. 

“I’m not asking you to change who you are, Doctor,” she continued quietly.  “You _are_ the most clever one in the room, you _are_ the one to come up with the plans, you _are_ the one who can save everyone, all the time.  You are the single most brilliant man I have ever known, or will probably ever meet.  And you’re a complete control freak.  That’s all just as much a part of you as…as your love of bananas and Marx Brothers films, and your insanely extensive journaling, and your obsessive need to rebuild the toaster every couple of days.  You can’t just…stop being you.  All I’m asking is that you stop using it to push me away, because I can tell you right now, I’m not giving up.  You don’t have to control _everything_ all the time…give yourself a break once in a while.”

The Doctor stared at her.  This tiny little human had torn apart everything he was sure of in the universe from the day one.  She had met his demons, and did battle with them on his behalf.  She had seen so much of the darkness within him, and refused to run away.  And she saw through every condescending attitude he had always relied on to protect himself.  And she loved him…in every way he craved her love, in every way he didn’t deserve.

She would never be as knowledgeable as him, she might never think of the plans before him…but she wouldn’t be controlled by him, and she wouldn’t let him hide.  She was more than a match for him…she was the only one who could beat him at his own game.

And for once in his very long life, for reasons he couldn’t explain, the Doctor didn’t want to run.

He swallowed hard and lifted a hand to her cheek, caressing her skin with his thumb.  He opened his mouth to say…something…but nothing came.  But, if she could see everything else…maybe she could see that too.  He leaned his head down and kissed her, and shivered as she flicked her tongue out along the line of his lips.  He deepened the kiss as he moved his hand to cradle her head, the other going behind her back to hold her firmly, while she snaked one arm behind his back up to his shoulder, running her other hand through his hair.  He poured out every bit of fear and insecurity that he hated admitting he had into the girl who could see it all, all while his fingers moved lightly on her back, tracing the words he could never say in a language she would never understand.


	47. Rise of the Cybermen (part 1)

Rose didn’t mention the argument again, and she didn’t say the words again.  It had been a risky move in the first place to back him into a corner the way she had, and the TARDIS…hadn’t been thrilled; she hadn’t actually tried to stop Rose, but she was definitely wary.  Rose didn’t want to push him any further than she already had.  She was aware that she had basically demanded that he completely alter his view on people for her…even if he managed to see her as more than simply another human companion—albeit a slightly more significant one—it wasn’t going to happen overnight.  So after she’d said her piece, she let it drop, and although some small underlying tension remained, they morphed back into the Doctor and Rose…though, she noticed, with far more ease of affection since the obliteration of the distance rule.

Now they were sitting together in the captain’s seat, the Doctor’s arm behind her as he casually played with the ends of her hair while they told Mickey about one of their many adventures.

"And that weird munchkin lady with the big eyes? Do you remember?" the Doctor asked enthusiastically.  "The way she looked at you! And then she opens her mouth and fire comes out!"

"I thought I was gonna get frazzled!" she cried with a laugh.

"Yeah!" One minute she’s standing there, and the next minute - rawwwh!" They both mimicked the fire from her mouth, and burst into laughter.

"Yeah…" Mickey said slowly, smiling and nodding, but clearly not quite getting it.  "Where—where was that, then? What happened?"

"Oh, it was on this um…uh, this uh…planet thing, asteroid," the Doctor said dismissively, his arm once again draped casually behind her.  "It’s a long story, you had to be there. Um… what’re you doing that for?" he asked suddenly, nodding at the button that Mickey was holding down.

“‘Cause you told me to,” Mickey said.

The Doctor blinked, and Rose smiled.  “When was that…?”

"About half an hour ago."

"Um. You can let go now," the Doctor said, clearly trying not to laugh.  Rose snickered.

"Well, how long’s it been since I could’ve stopped?" Mickey demanded as he stepped back."

"Ten minutes? Twenty?" the Doctor hazarded, his voice getting a little squeaky.  "…Twenty-nine?"

"You just forgot me!" Mickey cried indignantly.

"No, no, no!" the Doctor denied quickly while Rose laughed harder. "I was just—I was just…I was calibrating. I was just…no, I know exactly what I’m doing."

Suddenly, the console exploded violently.  Sparks and flames burst from it as Rose felt the TARDIS scream in her head.

"What’s happened?" she asked, making her way to the console with the Doctor.

"The time vortex is gone!" he shouted.  "That’s impossible—it’s just gone! Brace yourself! We’re gonna crash!" 

He grabbed Rose and wrapped his arms around her as they were thrown back, cushioning her fall.  Gas masks fell from the ceiling, and all the lights went out.  Rose felt the distinct lack of presence in her mind, disorienting and concerning her.  The Doctor groaned, but leaned up quickly over her, brushing the hair from her face.

"You alright?" he asked quickly, his eyes raking over her face.  She nodded.  "Mickey, you okay?"

"I’m fine," Mickey groaned from the other side of the console.  "I’m okay."

The Doctor got up quickly and helped Rose to her feet as Mickey staggered upright across from them.  “She’s dead,” the Doctor said, his face ashen as he looked around the dark ship.  “The TARDIS is dead.”

"You…you can’t fix her?" Rose asked hesitantly, her eyes roaming around for anything still showing signs of life.

"There’s nothing to fix," he said quietly.  "She’s perished. The last TARDIS in the universe… extinct."

"Where are we?" she asked.  "Can we get help?"

The Doctor shook his head.  “We fell out of the vortex, through the Void, into nothingness. We’re in some sort of no-place…the silent realm…the lost dimension…”

"Otherwise known as London!" Mickey called from the door with a laugh.

The Doctor looked up sharply as Mickey stepped out, and exchanged a look with Rose before they both quickly followed.

"London, England, Earth," Mickey said happily.  "Hold on…" He jumped off a low wall and scooped a newpaper out of a dustbin and examined it.  "First of February this year - not exactly far-flung, is it?"

The Doctor and Rose both jumped down and looked around.  Rose saw the zeppelins and started shaking.

"So, this is London," the Doctor said dubiously, not noticing Rose’s reaction.

"Yep," Mickey confirmed.

"Your city."

"That’s the one."

"Just as we left it."

"Bang on."

"And that includes the zeppelins?"

Mickey’s eyes snapped up, taking in the huge baloons.  “What the hell…?”

Rose stayed silent, moving a little ways away from men, trying desperately to keep from heaving up her breakfast.  She had known this adventure was coming, it was going to happen…that didn’t change the fact that her emotions were chaos when actually faced with this place again, before Torchwood, before the Cybermen…before she fell and got stuck here, before she lost him, before she started disappearing.

"Okay. So, it’s London with a big international zeppelin festival," Mickey said uncertainly.

"This is not your world," the Doctor said in a low voice.

"But if the date’s the same…" he paused as realization dawned.  "…it’s parallel, right? Am I right? Like a parallel Earth where they’ve got Zeppelins, am I right? I’m right, aren’t I?"

"Must be," the Doctor said.

Rose spotted the poster of Pete and moved slowly towards it.  “So, a parallel world where—“

"Oh, come on," Mickey said, cutting her off in his excitement.  "You see it on films. Like an alternative to our world were everything’s the same but a little bit different, like… I dunno—traffic lights are blue, Tony Blair never got elected…"

"And he’s still alive," she said weakly, gazing at the poster.  It wasn’t just a parallel version of her father…after she’d gotten trapped, he _became_ her father.  Seeing him now tore at her as she remembered what had been slipping away, what she’d given up to come back, what she would never have if she succeeded.  “A parallel world and my dad’s still alive.”

"Don’t look at it, Rose," the Doctor said in a low voice, a hand on her shoulder.  "Don’t even think about it. This is not your world."

"But he’s my dad," she said miserably.  She reached out and touched the poster, making it spring to life.  "He’s real."

_"Trust me on this,"_ urged the voice of Pete Tyler, still a far cry from Torchwood Director.  But that was the last face she saw, more than a year ago, before she’d been thrown back in time and space.  He’d said good night, and assured her they’d figure out whatever was causing her issues soon.

But now she’d figured it out…and as a result, she’d lost her dad all over again.

"He’s a success," she said, her voice breaking a little.  "He was always planning these daft little schemes, health-food drinks and stuff. Everyone said they were useless. But he did it."

The Doctor pulled at her gently until she was facing him.  He grasped her jaw tenderly and pulled her face up to look at him.  “Rose, if you’ve ever trusted me, then listen to me now,” he said, quietly and urgently.  He pulled at her again when her eyes drifted back to the poster.  “Stop looking at it.  Your father’s dead. He died when you were six months old. That is not your Pete. That is A Pete. For all we know, he’s got his own Jackie—his own Rose. His own daughter who is someone else, but not you.  You can’t see him. Not ever.”  She felt the tears filling her eyes, and his look softened.  “I’m sorry, Rose,” he said, moving his hand to caress her cheek as he leaned his head down to touch his forehead to hers.

"S’not your fault," she said in a small voice.  She wished she could explain to him why this was so painful for her.  She was so tired of facing the same battles over again and not being able to explain why they hurt so badly.

"I’ll get us out of here…somehow," he vowed, kissing her gently before pulling away.  He stalked back into the TARDIS, stopping only briefly to mutter something to Mickey.

He would get them out of here, she knew.  If he could find that one spark, he’d make it work for them.  But before that, she’d have to face almost every nightmare she had.

oOoOo

The Doctor paced slowly around the console, looking for any signs of life.  To have crashed here was bad enough…to see Rose in so much pain was intolerable.  If she tried to see the man who looked like her father, it would only be worse.  What if she came face to face with another Rose?

His head tilted as the thought hit him oddly.  There wouldn’t be another Rose.  And not only in the way that only this Rose could be _his_ Rose…he was absolutely certain that there would be no Rose Tyler in this universe, though he could not for the life of him figure out what made him so sure of this.

He was pulled from these strange thoughts by Mickey entering the TARDIS.

"I told you to keep an eye on her!" he yelled.

"She’s alright," Mickey said dismissively, and the Doctor nearly decked him.  What the hell had she ever seen in the boy?  The one who could so easily walk away from her while she was so clearly in agony, in a world with a million possibilities of what she could never have…it grated on him.

"If she goes wandering off," he started, advancing on him.  "Parallel world, it’s like a gingerbread house! All those temptations calling out."

"Oh, so it’s just Rose then?" Mickey asked, sounding indignant. "Nothing out there to tempt me?"

"Well, I don’t know," the Doctor said with a dismissive wave.  He realized that this was more than a little unfair, but there it was.  "I can’t worry about everything… if I could just get this thing to—“ He kicked the TARDIS console in frustration, immediately feeling pain bloom through his foot.  He scowled and made his way slowly to the jump seat, forcing himself not to limp.

"Did that help?" Mickey asked.

"Yes," the Doctor spat.

"Did that hurt?"

"Yes," he admitted, sitting down and rubbing his foot.

"So you promised her you’d get us home," Mickey said, stepping closer.  "Can you?"

"I don’t know," the Doctor admitted.

oOoOo

Rose sat fiddling with her phone.  She had still looked him up…she couldn’t help it.  Her would-be father in another lifetime…before he forgot about her.  At least when she saw him now, the vacant expression when he looked at her would be because he really hadn’t met her, and not because she was being slowly ripped from his mind by an unfriendly universe.

"There you are!" the Doctor called as he and Mickey sauntered up to her.  "You all right? No applause, I fixed it!"  He showed off the now dim power cell that he and Mickey had found in the TARDIS.  "Twenty-four hours, then we’re flying back to reality."  She tried to smile back at him, but with little success.  "What is it?" he asked finally.

"It’s nothing," she said quickly.  "Wrong universe, right?"  He continued to watch her, waiting for her.  "It’s just…my phone connected.  There’s this… Cybus Network, it finds your phone. It gave me Internet access."

"Rose…"

"I don’t exist," she said, looking down.  The Doctor only sighed, as if he’d been expecting this, and pulled her up to wrap his arms around her.  She leaned into him for a moment, needing his strength to get through this one.  He kissed the top of her head as she said, "I want to see him."

"You can’t," he said against her hair, stiffening slightly.

"I just wanna see him," she insisted.

"I can’t let you," he said, pulling away so he could look into her eyes.

"You just said twenty-four hours," she reminded him, pulling out of his grasp.

"You can’t become their daughter," he said, frustrated.  "That’s not the way it works! Mickey, tell her."

"Twenty-four hours, yeah?" Mickey said, standing and backing away.

"Where’re you going?" the Doctor demanded, losing control of the situation.

"Well, I can do what I want!" Mickey replied simply.

"I’ve got the address and everything," Rose said, backing away in the opposite direction.  They’d have to go sooner or later anyway.  And this was Mickey’s chance to find his own way, to prove that he wasn’t the tin dog…this was the start.

"Stay where you are, both of you!" the Doctor yelled, looking frantically from on to the other. "Rose, come back here! Mickey, come back here right now!"

"I just wanna see him," Rose said.

"Yeah, I’ve got things to see and all," Mickey added.

"Like WHAT?" the Doctor yelled in pure frustration, and Rose winced.  She hadn’t forgotten how easily the Doctor could overlook Mickey, and it really wasn’t fair.  But she knew that was part of what turned him into the strong man she had left behind in this world.

"Well, you don’t know anything about me, do ya?" Mickey yelled back at the Doctor.  "It’s always about Rose. I’m just a spare part."

"I’m sorry," Rose said.  "I’ve gotta go."

She turned and walked away, feeling like an idiot, but knowing that she had to do this, and knowing just as well that the Doctor would follow her.  She felt a pang of sympathy for Mickey.

"Go on then," she heard the boy say.  "No choice, is there? You can only chase after one of us, and you know you’ll always follow her."

"Back here in twenty-four hours!" she heard the Doctor yell before she heard his chucks his the ground as he raced to catch up with her.

"Rose—“

"Doctor, do you remember when you took me to see my dad before?" she asked, stopping in front of him and cutting him off.

"I…yes, of course," he said, watching her warily.

"And what happened?" she asked.

His face went from confusion to a sort of painful resignation.  “You asked me to hold you…and then you watched him die.”

Rose swallowed hard at the soft words, the memory blazing in her mind, both versions.  “So if I could do that, do you really think that it’s impossible for me to see him once, just to see him, and then walk away?”

"Rose…" He sighed.  "I’m beginning to think that absolutely nothing is impossible for you."

"Just beginning to?" she teased, giving him her best tongue in teeth grin.  He groaned and she started walking away again, certain that she’d already all but won.

"So what about Mickey?" he asked as he fell into step with her, taking her hand.  “What’s his story?”

"Mickey’s mum just couldn’t cope," she said. "His dad hung around for a while, but then he just sort of wandered off. He was brought up by his gran.  She was such a great woman. God, she used to slap him!" she said with a laugh before sobering quickly.  "And then she died. She tripped and fell down the stairs. It’s…oh…about five years ago, now. I was still in school."

"I never knew," the Doctor said softly, contrite.

"Well, you never asked."

"You never said!" he protested.

"That’s Mickey," she said softly.  "I suppose I always just took him for granted."  She paused.  She really had.  He’d always been there.  In this world, before he’d started to lose track, he was always ready to drop everything for her, even just a movie night to keep her mind off her heartbreak.  And this time around, when she’d at least been kind enough to break it off with him…there was still a part of her that always expected him to be there, waiting for her.  And he was.  "Wonder if she’s still alive here…his gran."

"Could be," the Doctor said with a small shrug.  "Like I said, parallel world - gingerbread house. We need to get out of here as fast as we can."

There was a short alarm burst, and all the people around them suddenly froze.  They stopped and looked around, Rose wary, the Doctor confused.  He let go of her hand to wander around the frozen crowd, stopping beside one man and peering at his earpiece.

"It’s the earpieces," he said.  "Like Bluetooth attachments, but everyone’s connected together."

Rose took out her phone as it beeped and waved him over.  “It’s on my phone. It’s automatic, look. It’s downloading. Probably what they’re all getting.”

The Doctor put on his brainy specs and watched over her shoulder as she scrolled through the daily downloads.

"News…international news…sport…weather…"

"They get it direct," he said, glancing back up at the crowd briefly. "Downloaded right into their heads."

"TV schedules, lottery numbers…"

"Everyone shares the same information," he said as he took the phone from her.  "Daily download published by Cybus Industries."

The download scrolled to ‘joke,’ and everyone around them chuckled.  The Doctor looked up, nonplussed, as everyone starting walking again as if nothing strange had occurred.

"You lot, you’re obsessed," he muttered as he looked back at the phone.  "You’d do anything for the latest upgrade."

Rose shivered at the word upgrade, but tried to move past it.  “Oi…not my lot,” she said cheerfully.  “Different world, remember?”

"It’s not SO far off your world," he said, still concentrating on the phone.  "This place is only parallel.  Oh, look at that," he said, showing her his results.  "Cybus Industries owns just about every company in Britain, including Vitex. Mr Pete Tyler’s VERY well connected."  He glanced down at her as she hung on his arm, smiling and looking up at him with innocent eyes.  He glanced between her and the phone, then sighed and tossed the phone to her.  "Oh, okay. I give up.  Let’s go and see him."

She giggled and kissed his cheek before they started off again, trying her best to ignore the rising panic in her chest.


	48. Rise of the Cybermen (part 2)

Rose and the Doctor snuck onto the Tyler property, and watched the stream of cars coming up the drive from their hiding spot in the bushes.

"They’ve got visitors," the Doctor commented.

"February the first," Rose remembered.  "Mum’s birthday. Even in a parallel universe, she still loves a party."

The Doctor smirked.  “Well, given Pete Tyler’s guest list, I wouldn’t mind a look. And there is one guaranteed way of getting inside,” he added, waving the psychic paper.

"Psychic paper!" Rose said, excited.

"Who do you wanna be?" he asked with a smile.

Rose hesitated.  “I suppose Sir Doctor and Dame Rose are out of the question,” she said with a sigh.  He looked at her curiously.  “Well, if you really wanna know what’s going on, you’ve got to work in the kitchens.”

He beamed at her.  “Rose Tyler, you are magnificent.  C’mon,” he said, holding out his hand as he stood.

They made their way inside, the Doctor flashing his psychic paper and retrieving uniforms for them.  She had to admit, going this route did have its appeal…apart from information gathering, the Doctor looked quite good in a tux.  They each took up serving trays and wound their way through the mingling guests.  She tried to get over the oddness of being part of the serving staff in what she had come to know as Mum and Dad’s Place.

"According to Lucy, that man over there—“

"Lucy?"

"She’s carrying the salmon pinwheels," he said, nodding to a young waitress on the other side of the room.  She raised her eyebrows at him.  "Stop it…you make that little skirt look better than she ever could," he added, eyeing her up and down with an arched eyebrow, then chuckled when she blushed furiously.  "Aaaand that’s what you get for being catty.  Really, Rose, we’ve covered this.  Anyway, Lucy says that is the President of Great Britain," he finished finally, nodding at the man.

"What, there’s a President, not a Prime Minister?" she asked, her mind still whirring around his surprising comments.

"Seems so," he said, nodding.

"Doesn’t have quite the ring of ‘God Save the Queen’, does it?"

"Definitely not," he said, chuckling again.

"Excuse me!" Pete’s voice filtered through archway. "Thank you very much. Thank you - if I could just have your attention, please?"

Rose wound through the crowds toward the central staircase, the Doctor in hot pursuit.

"Thank you very much!" Pete continued as they made their way closer.  "Um, I’d just like to say, er, thank you to you all, for coming on this…this very special occasion: my wife’s… thirty-ninth."  Rose snorted and the Doctor rolled his eyes as the crowd laughed.  Jackie didn’t change _that_ much.  Pete gave a thumbs up.  “Trust me on this.  So, without any further ado - here she is. The birthday girl… my lovely wife… Jackie Tyler.”

Rose saw the Doctor glance at her as she looked up at the staircase, but this time, seeing this Jackie was quite a different blow.  Rose still hadn’t found the perfect way of coping with meeting people she knew would be dead in a matter of hours if she couldn’t stop it.  On top of that, she realized that even if she could somehow save this Jackie…she would take away all future happiness for Pete and her mother.  She stepped closer to the Doctor, and felt his hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently for reassurance.

"Now, I’m not giving a speech," Jackie said.  "That’s what my parties are famous for, no work, no politics, just a few good mates and plenty of black-market whisky.  Pardon me, Mr President," she said as the crowd laughed.   "So, yeah! Get on with it - enjoy, enjoy."

There were more cheers and Pete took Jackie’s hand—just a show, Rose knew—and they descended the stairs to join the party.

“I’m sorry, Rose,” the Doctor said softly in her ear.  She started.  “Even if there was a way to explain…this isn’t your world, and those aren’t your parents.”

"I know," she said quickly.  "I’ve still got my mum at home, my real mum.  It’s just…" she paused.  Again, she screamed inwardly in frustration that she couldn’t explain how she felt to her best friend.  "They’ve got each other. Mum’s got no one."

"She’s got you!" he put in quickly.  "Those two haven’t!"  He sighed.  "All these different worlds, not one of them gets it right."

"Rose!"  They both turned as they heard Jackie’s voice.  "There’s my little girl!" Jackie said as the tiny dog (which Rose never, ever came to like, though her mother had adored…she never did understand why Pete had kept her) tottered over to her.   "Come to mummy, come to mummy! Yes, good girl! Good girl, aren’t you?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at the little yapper, and the Doctor burst out laughing.  She cut a look at him and he made an effort to reign himself in.

"Sorry," he said, though he still sounded a little strangled.  She made an irritated noise and moved back into the crowd, ignoring the chuckle behind her as the Doctor followed.

"So you gonna go investigate?" she asked him as they headed back for the kitchen for new trays.

"Suppose…house this big, might take a while to find anything worthwhile," he said, glancing around.

"Might wanna try that hall there," she said, nodding to the hall Pete’s office was in.  "Not a lot of guests milling around in there.  It’ll be easier to sneak if you do find something."

"Well done," he said following her gaze before turning back to grin at her.  "It’s almost like you’ve been doing this for a while."

"Almost," she said with a laugh.

"Careful," he warned.  "Don’t get too chatty with…oh, you know," he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek before sauntering off down the hall.

Rose went to the kitchen to retrieve another tray of champagne, then made her way back to where Jackie was mingling with the guests.  She watched the older woman, noticing little differences between her and Rose’s own mother.  This woman was definitely aware of her own standing in society, compliments of her husband and his bank account.  She mingled with the guests with an affected air.  Rose remembered the one conversation she’d had with this woman the last time she was here, and shuddered.  While Rose’s mother was certainly never one to hold back her opinions of anyone, and never believed anyone was above her, she never believed anyone was below her, either, and gave everyone a fair chance to earn her respect, from urchins to royalty.  Rose knew that at one time, this Jackie and her mother had been closer to the same person, but somewhere along the line, they’d drifted.  Rose’s mother had lived life the hard way, raising a daughter on her own as best she could, while this woman had lived in the lap of luxury, with disastrous results.  She understood a little more now why this marriage was falling apart, while Pete and her mother had been so incredibly happy from day one.

"I remember her twenty-first," Pete said, breaking into her thoughts as he stepped beside her. "Pint of cider in the George."

"Sorry—champagne?" Rose asked, trying not to sound breathless.

Pete looked down at the tray for a moment.  “Oh, might as well. I’m paying for it!” She chuckled along with him as he took a sip.

"It’s a big night for you," Rose noted.

"Well, for her…still, she’s happy," he said with a little sigh, watching his wife.

"Yeah, she should be," Rose said "It’s a great party."

"Do you think?" he asked, smiling.

"Trust me on this," she said with a grin and a thumbs up, earning her a laugh.

She paused for a moment then, unsure how to continue the conversation.  She already knew they had no children, and that they were splitting up.  It felt like a lie to replay the old dialogue, but wasn’t sure how to relate to this man who wasn’t yet her father.  She also wasn’t sure how much bearing this conversation had on his ability to trust them later.  Once again, she wished fervently that this night was over, and she could be back in the TARDIS with her Doctor, safe from the nightmares of this place.

"So, um—how long have you two been married?" she asked finally, giving up.

"Twenty years," Pete replied.

"No kids?"

Pete shook his head.  “We kept putting it off. She said she didn’t wanna spoil her figure.”

"Well, forty…er, sorry, thirty-nine," she corrected with a grin, which Pete answered.  "That’s not too late."

"Yeah it is," he said, a little sadly.  "Too late for a lot of things. I moved out last month. We’re gonna keep it quiet, you know - it’s bad for business."  Rose nodded sympathetically.  "Why am I telling YOU all this? We haven’t met before, have we?" He stared at her, brow furrowed.  "I dunno, you just seem sort of—"

"What?" she asked.

"I dunno, just sort of…right," he said finally.  He stared at her for another moment, then moved away uncomfortably.  Rose watched him go sadly.  It was all she could do not to fling her arms around him and cry on his shoulder, as she’d done many times after losing the Doctor.  He’d been one of the only ones to believe her, when things had started going wrong.  She remembered the post-it notes he had everywhere, reminding him that Rose existed, the ones that drove her mother mad.  Twenty years without her, and he had still tried so hard to keep her.

She spun, dropping her tray as she bolted for the loo, heaving the contents of her stomach into the toilet.  When that was over, she sat back, leaning her back against the door and wrapping her arms around herself as her breath came in short, sharp gasps.  She couldn’t do this.  Not here.  Not with him.  Not against those things.  It was too much at once.  She didn’t even have the TARDIS to lend her strength.  She was totally alone.

It was another minute before she was able to heave herself off the floor with some semblance of control.  She had to keep it together if she was going to get out of here.  She checked her appearance and opened the cabinet to gargle down some mouthwash, spitting it out just as she heard the faint _boom, boom_ of the Cyberman footfalls outside.  She felt dizzy again and leaned heavily against the counter.

“ _ROSE!”_

Her head snapped up at the Doctor’s voice full of panic, and darted out of the room, careening around a corner into his arms.  She clung to him for a moment, her last external vestige of strength.

He breathed her name, kissing her hair quickly as he held her tightly.  He pulled away after a second, taking her hand and running to the window.

"It’s happening again," the Doctor whispered.

"You’ve seen them before," Rose said. 

He nodded.  “They’re Cybermen.”

Rose jumped as several steel fists smashed through windows, trying to gain entry.  The Doctor pulled her down as glass flew everywhere before the Cybermen stepped inside.  He stood and wrapped an arm around her waist as Cybermen came from the hall, pulling her into the crowd and pushing her behind him.  The Cybermen surrounded the cowering group, and the Doctor looked over as the President’s ear buds rang.  They heard his side of a conversation with Lumic, the man responsible for all this chaos.

Rose stayed silent, sure that she should probably be asking questions, but equally sure that if she opened her mouth, the best she could manage right this second was a moan.  Her whole body shook as she took in the steel monstrosities from behind the Doctor, who was holding her in place with a firm grip on her arm.

"Who were these people?" the President’s voice drifted through her terror.

"They’re people?" she finally choked out.

"They were," the Doctor said quietly.  "Until they had all their humanity taken away. It’s a living brain jammed inside a cybernetic body. With a heart of steel. All emotions removed."

"No emotions," she breathed.  "Because it hurts…"  That…she could understand now.  The Doctor glanced back at her and nodded.

**"We have been upgraded,"** one of the Cybers said as the President hung up on Lumic.

"Into what?" the Doctor asked.

“ **The next level of mankind** ,” it replied. “ **We are Human Point Two. Every citizen will receive a free upgrade. You will become like us**.”

"I’m sorry," the President said, walking closer to the Cyberman.  "I’m so sorry for what’s been done to you.  But listen to me - this experiment ends. Tonight."

“ **Upgrading is compulsory** ,” it informed him.

"And if I refuse?" the President challenged.

"Don’t," the Doctor said quickly.

"What if I refuse?" the President asked again.

"I’m telling you, don’t," the Doctor repeated insistently, taking a step forward.

"What happens if I refuse?" the President asked again, ignoring him.  Rose felt the Doctor’s hand on her arm tighten in frustration.

“ **Then you are not compatible** ,” it said.

"What happens then?" he asked in a challenging tone.

“ **You will be deleted** ,” it said simply, and grasped the President by the neck before electrocuting him.

Chaos was instantaneous.  Most people screamed, and everyone started running away, looking for ways out, while some were attacked by other Cybermen.  The Doctor shifted his grip to Rose’s opposite hand and pulled her outside through a broken window.  They ran a few feet, but were greeted by another row of Cybermen.  The Doctor spun quickly, pulling her around the side of the house.  Rose spotted Pete jumping out of a window and called to him, heartened when he quickly took off after them.

When they reached the front of the house, the Doctor looked around desperately.

"Pete, is there a way out?" he yelled.

"The side gates!" he replied, pointing.  "Who are you?" he asked as they all took off again.  "How do you know so much?"

"You wouldn’t believe it in a million years," the Doctor said quickly before they all skidded to a halt as they were met with another row of Cybermen, spinning and running in the other direction again.  Two figures ran towards them with guns.

"Get behind me!" yelled a voice, and they sprinted to them, crouching behind them as they opened fire on the Cybermen.  The advancing line stopped, and Rose looked warily at the men with the guns.  She remembered working with Jake at Torchwood long after this night, but the other man…was not who he appeared to be.

"Who’re you?" she asked, and the Doctor glanced at her in surprise.  "Just cause I don’t exist doesn’t mean he doesn’t," she explained, with a nod at his dress and weapon.  The Doctor’s face took on a wary expression as well, until they heard Mickey calling to them.

"That’s not me," he said, panting slightly as he reached them.  "That’s like… the other one."

"Oh, as if things weren’t bad enough," the Doctor said, frustrated.  "There’s two Mickey’s!"

"It’s Rickey," said the one on Rose’s right.

"But there’s more of them," Mickey said, nodding at the Cybermen.  They looked around as more marched up, surrounding them.

"We’re surrounded," Rose said, again trying to force herself to stop shaking.

"Put the guns down," the Doctor ordered quickly as Rickey raised his.  "Bullets won’t stop them."

Jake ignored him and opened fire again.  The Doctor moved to him and shoved the gun to the side.

"No! Stop shooting, now!" he yelled.  He straightened and turned to the Cybermen.  "We surrender! Hands up," he said, putting up his own as example.  The rest quickly followed suit.  "There’s no need to damage us, we’re good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed."

“ **You are rogue elements** ,” one of the Cybers said, stepping forward.

"But we surrender," the Doctor screamed at it.

“ **You are incompatible** ,” it said.

"But this is a surrender!"

“ **You will be deleted**.”

"But we’re surrendering!" the Doctor yelled frantically.  "Listen to me, we surrender!"

“ **You are inferior** ,” it said.  “ **Man will be reborn as Cybermen but you will perish under maximum deletion**.”  It raised an arm toward the Doctor.  “ **Delete.  Delete.  Delete**.”


	49. Age of Steel (part 1)

_"But we’re surrendering!" the Doctor yelled frantically.  "Listen to me, we surrender!"_

_“ **You are inferior** ,” it said.  “ **Man will be reborn as Cybermen but you will perish under maximum deletion**.”  It raised an arm toward the Doctor.  “ **Delete.  Delete.  Delete**.”_

The Doctor thrust his hand forward, revealing the power cell he’d palmed.  A golden light shot out of it, arching between the Cybermen, disintegrating all of them.

"What the hell was that?" Rickey yelled, stunned.

"Or, how about instead, RUN!" the Doctor yelled, taking off.

They started off, but stopped a van pulled onto the scene, horn tooting.

"Everybody in!" Mrs Moore yelled from the driver’s seat.

Pete tried to run for the house, but the Doctor grabbed him quickly, trying to pull him to the van.

"I’ve gotta go back," he said, miserably.  "My wife’s in there."

"Anyone inside that house is dead," the Doctor said in a low, urgent tone.  "If you wanna help, then don’t let her die for nothing. You’ve gotta come with us right now."

"Come on, get a move on!" Mrs Moore yelled.

Rose stopped and looked back at the house.  If things went well…this is the last time she’d ever see it.  She’d never come back to Mum and Dad’s Place…never see Tony running down the hall to see her…

"Rose, she’s not your mother," the Doctor said urgently, misunderstanding her hesitancy.

"I know," she said with a sniff.

"Come on," he said, pushing her gently towards the van.

"Finished chatting?" yelled Mrs Moore as they scrambled in the back.  "Never seen a slower getaway in my life!"

The Doctor looked at Rose as the van sped away from the Tyler residence.  The girl who faced down ghosts, werewolves and the Dalek Emperor without batting an eye was sitting across from him pale and trembling.  He wasn’t sure what shocked him more—that she was so terrified…or that this was the first time he’d seen it.  Both, he supposed.  Either way, he did not like seeing her so vulnerable when there was still so much danger.  He reached across the van and took one of her hands tightly in his.  She looked at him then, and her eyes had a haunted quality that scared him more than the Cybermen did.  He could tell already that this wasn’t going to be an easy one for her to shake off later.

"What was that thing?" Rickey asked, pointing at the power cell and pulling him from his thoughts.

"Little bit of technology from my home," he said, still watching Rose as he stroked a thumb over her skin.  She shuddered and closed her eyes, but looked a little more herself when she opened them again.

"It’s stopped glowing," Mickey said.  "Has it run out?"

"It’s on a revitalizing loop," the Doctor said, squeezing Rose’s hand one last time before letting go to lean back to put the power cell in his pocket.  "It’ll charge back up in about four hours."

"Right. So, we don’t have a weapon anymore," Rickey noted.

"Yeah, we’ve got weapons," Jake said with a sneer.  "Might not be one of those metal things, but they’re good enough for men like him," he said, pointing at Pete.

"Leave him alone!" Rose yelled quickly, her eyes flashing.  The Doctor was relieved to see a glimpse of her spirit rising up.  He wasn’t sure what he was going to do if she shut down on him now. "What’s he done wrong?"

"Oh, you know - just laid a trap that’s wiped out the Government," Jake said, his voice oozing sarcasm.  "And left Lumic in charge."

"If I was part of all that, do you think I’d leave my wife inside?" Pete asked defensively.

"Maybe your plan went wrong," Rickey suggested.  "Still gives us the right to execute you, though."

"Talk about executions, you’ll make ME your enemy," the Doctor said quickly.  "And take some really good advice - you don’t wanna do that."

"All the same, we have evidence that says Pete Tyler’s been working for Lumic since 20.5," Rickey said, staring daggers at the man in question.

"And where’d you get that evidence from, then?" Rose asked stubbornly.  The Doctor almost smiled.

"Tell ‘em, Mrs M," Rickey said.

"We’ve got a government mole who feeds us information," Mrs Moore said from behind the wheel.  "Lumic’s private files, his South American operations… the lot. Secret broadcasts twice a week."

"Broadcast from Gemini?" Pete asked quickly.

"And how do you know that?" Rickey asked, frowning.

"I’m Gemini," Pete said, sounding exasperated.  "That’s ME."

"Yeah, well you would say that," Rickey said stubbornly.

"Encrypted wavelength six-five-seven using binary nine," Pete supplied promptly.  The Doctor arched an eyebrow as Rickey and Jake glanced at each other.  "That’s the only reason I was working for Lumic. To get information. I thought I was broadcasting to the Security Services, and what do I get? Scooby Doo and his gang. They’ve even got the van!"

"No, no, no!" Mickey cut in.  "But the Preachers know what they’re doing. Ricky said he’s London’s Most Wanted!"

"Yeah, that’s not exactly…" Rickey trailed off. They all looked at him.

"Not exactly what?" Mickey demanded.

"I’m London’s Most Wanted for… parking tickets," he said, a little sheepishly.  The Doctor smiled.  Different universe, same old idiot.

"Great," Pete muttered.

"They were deliberate!" Rickey said defensively.  "I was fighting the system! Park anywhere, that’s me."

"Good policy," the Doctor said, still smiling.  "I do much the same. I’m the Doctor, by the way, if anyone’s interested…"

"And I’m Rose. Hello."  The Doctor glanced at her as she waved with a small smile, glad to see some color back in her face.

"Even better," Pete said.  "That’s the name of my dog. Still - at least I’ve got the catering staff on my side."

"I knew you weren’t a traitor," Rose said quietly to him.

"Why’s that, then?"

She glanced at the Doctor, who gave her a warning look. “I just did,” she said with a shrug.

"They took my wife," Pete said miserably.

"She might still be alive," Rose said, trying to console him.  The Doctor, on the other hand, simply looked on in sympathy.  Those weren’t words of consolation at this point.

"That’s even worse," Pete said, apparently thinking along the same lines.  “‘Cause that’s what Lumic does. He takes the living… and he turns them into those machines."

"Cybermen," the Doctor said, and all eyes moved to him.  "They’re called Cybermen. And I’d take those ear-pods off, if I were you," he added.  "You never know…Lumic could be listening."

Pete obliged and handed the pods to him.  The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and disabled them quickly.

"But he’s overreached himself," he continued after a moment.  "He’s still just a businessman. He’s assassinated the President. All we need to do is get to the City and inform the authorities. Because I promise you - this ends tonight."

oOoOo

When they made it out of the van, people were walking through the streets, all headed for the factory.

"What the hell…?" Jake asked.

"The ear pods," Rose said.

The Doctor nodded.  “Lumic’s taken control.”

"What happens if we take them off?" Rose asked.

"You’d cause a brainstorm," he said, looking around as they walked.  "Human Race—for such an intelligent lot, you aren’t half susceptible. Give anyone a chance to take control and you submit. Sometimes I think you like it. Easy life."

“Oi!”

“Oh, alright, fine— _most_ humans,” he corrected, eyeing Rose.  “The ones who aren’t stubborn enough to be completely devoid of self-preservation around angry Time Lords.”

"Hey," Jake called to them from where he and Rickey were crouched and watching around a corner. "Come and see."

They hurried over to them, and looked around the corner.  A row of Cybermen were marching alongside a group of vacant looking people, being herded in the same direction as the others.

"Where are they all going?" Rose asked.

"I don’t know," the Doctor said.  "Lumic must have a base of operation."

"Battersea," Pete chimed it.  "That’s where he was building his prototypes."

"But why’s he doing all this?"

"He’s dying," Pete explained.  "This all started out as a way of life by keeping the brain alive. At any cost."

"You said you’ve seen them before," she said to the Doctor.  "That head in Van Statten’s museum…you said it was an old enemy."

"There are Cybermen in our universe," he said, nodding.  "They started on an ordinary world just like this, then swarmed across the galaxy. This lot are a parallel version, and they’re starting from scratch right here on earth."

"What the hell are you two on about?" Pete asked, confused.

"Never mind that," Rickey said.  "Come on, we need to get out of the City."  He glanced up to see the Cybermen approaching quickly.  "Okay, split up - Mrs Moore, you look after that lot. Jake, distract them, go right, I’ll go left, we’ll meet back at Bridge Street. Move."  He and Jake sprinted away.

"I’m going with him," Mickey said quickly, taking off after Rickey.

"Come on, let’s go," Mrs Moore said to them.

The tore off down the street, skidding into an alley as Cybermen approached from either side.  They twisted through the network of alleys until they again heard Cybermen approaching.  The Doctor ushered them into a space behind a pile of dusbins and rubbish.  The Doctor stayed close to Rose, one hand on her back, while Rose clutched Pete’s hand.  The Cybermen stopped beside them, and they all held their breath as the Doctor pointed his sonic in their direction, making it bleep and causing the Cybers to turn away.  Rose stood up and let go of Pete’s hand, who looked a little bewildered by the fact that she’d been clutching at it at all.  She shook her head as the Doctor ushered them out and they started running in the opposite direction the Cybermen had taken.

They made it to the rendezvous point before anyone else, and were grateful to find the street deserted.  The Doctor put a hand on Rose’s shoulder and leaned down to look her in the eye, making sure she was alright.  She nodded, and he moved his hand to caress her cheek briefly before they heard Jake rounding the corner.

"I ran past the river," he said as he got nearer to them.  "You should’ve seen it, the whole City’s on the watch. Hundreds of Cybermen all down the Thames." He looked up as someone else ran down the street towards them.  "Here he is!" Jake said happily.  The man didn’t reply as he came to a halt in front of them, and Jake’s smiled died.  "Which one are you?"

"I’m sorry," he said.  "The Cybermen. He couldn’t…"

"Are you Rickey?" Jake asked desperately.  "ARE YOU RICKEY?"

"Oh, Mickey," Rose said, relieved that he was still the one to make it, even if Jake was in turmoil right now.  She ran up to him and threw her arms around him.

"He tried," Mickey said.  "He was running…"  Jake turned away, and Mickey pulled away from Rose to go after him.  "There was too many of them."

"Shut it," Jake said angrily, not looking at any of them.

"There was nothing I could do," Mickey said, his voice breaking.

"I said just SHUT IT," Jake said, rounding on him.  "Don’t even TALK about him. You’re NOTHING, you are.  Nothing."  Both men’s eyes were shining with tears.

"We can mourn him when London is safe," the Doctor said calmly.  "But now, we move on."

oOoOo

"The whole of London’s been sealed off," the Doctor explained as they stood on the embankment, looking across the Thames at Battersea.  "And the entire population’s been taken inside that place to be ‘converted’."

"We’ve gotta get in there and shut it down," Rose said, some of her old Torchwood authority coming into her voice.  Something about working with Mickey, Jake and Pete again.   Or maybe just an attempt to push aside her fear of this place and these enemies.  Possibly both.

"How do we do that?" Mickey asked.

"Oh, I’ll think of something," the Doctor said, with a wink at Rose.

"You’re just making this up as you go along!" cried Mickey indignantly.

"Yep," he replied, popping the ‘p.’  "But I do it brilliantly."

Rose smirked and Mickey nodded reluctantly.  Mrs Moore pulled out her laptop and brought up the schematics for the factory.

"Look, cooling tunnels, underneath the plant…big enough to walk through," she said.

"We go under there and up into the control center?" the Doctor asked, pointing to the route.  She nodded.

"There’s another way in," Pete said, looking thoughtful, and everyone turned to him.  "Through the front door. If they’ve taken Jackie for upgrading, that’s how she’ll get in…"

"We can’t just go strolling up," Jake said.

"Or, we could… with these," Mrs Moore said, pulling ear-pods from her bag.  The Doctor took one and examined it.  "Fake ear-pods. Dead. No signal. But put them on, the Cybermen would mistake you for one of the crowd."

"Then that’s my job," Pete said.

"You’d have to show NO emotion," the Doctor warned him.  "None at all. ANY sign of emotion would give you away."

"You got another set of those?" Rose asked.  Mrs Moore nodded.  "Okay. If that’s the best way of finding Jackie…I’m coming with you."  It was more about sticking as close to Pete as she could for as long as she could, but she knew going for Jackie would raise fewer questions.

"Why does she matter to YOU?" Pete asked.

"We haven’t got time," she said quickly.  "Doctor, I’m going with him.”

He looked at her for a minute before walking up and pulling her to the side.

“Are you sure?” he asked, his eyes raking over her face.  “You…were in pretty bad shape after we left the house.  Is this really what you want to do?”

“I can’t let him go alone,” she said.  “I’ll be alright.”

He hesitated another minute, then handed her the earpod he was holding with a nod before turning back to the rest of the group.  “Tell you what… we can take the ear-pods at the same time. Give people their minds back. So they don’t walk into that place like sheep. Jakey-boy?”  The Doctor went further up the hill with Jake to look at Battersea.  “Lumic’s transmitting the control signal, and it must be from over there…” he said, waving the screwdriver until in bleeped.  “There it is… on the zeppelin, see? Great big transmitter. Good thing Lumic likes showing off. Reckon you could take it out?”

"Consider it done," Jake said, smiling.

"Mrs Moore… would you care to accompany me into the cooling tunnels?" the Doctor asked as he approached them again.

"How could I refuse an offer of cooling tunnels?" she asked with a grin.

"We attack on three sides," the Doctor said as he took off his brainy specs.  "Above, between, below. We get to the control center, we stop the conversion machines."

"What about me?" Mickey asked.  They all looked over at him, suddenly realizing that he’d been forgotten again.

"Mickey!" the Doctor said, a little chagrined.  "You can…um…"

"Go with Jake," Rose said quickly.  “Everyone in pairs.”

"I don’t need that idiot," Jake spat quickly.

"I’m not an idiot! You got that?" Mickey burst out angrily, striding toward him.  He took a deep breath to calm down before he spoke again.  "I’m offering to help."

"Whatever," Jake said after a moment, and stalked off.  Mickey followed, but was stopped by the Doctor calling his name.

"Good luck," the Doctor said.

"Yeah. You too," Mickey replied.  "Rose, I’ll see you later."

"Yeah, you better," she said.

"If we survive this, I’ll see you back at the TARDIS," the Doctor said, looking at Mickey intensely, but offering a small smile.

"That’s a promise," Mickey said, nodding before walking off again.

The Doctor walked over to Rose and pulled her to him, wrapping an arm around her waist with a hand on the back of her head as he kissed her soundly.

"Good luck," he whispered huskily as he pulled away. 

“You too,” she replied, her hands on his chest over each heart.  The hand behind her head moved to caress her cheek, and she leaned into it for a moment before he released her and shook hands with Pete before they split up.

Rose raced to Battersea with Pete, sticking to shadows to avoid being seen by the Cybermen.  They ducked behind a pallet and Pete pulled out the ear-pods.

"Just put them on," Pete ordered quickly.  "Don’t show any emotion. No signs, nothing. Okay?"

"Don’t worry," Rose said, putting the ear-pods on.  "We can do it."

"We could die in here," he said. "Why are you doing this?"

She looked at him, and all the reasons to be here flooded through her mind.

_For you.  For Mum.  For Tony.  For everything you’ve never had, and for everything you will._

"Let’s just say I’m doing it for my mum and dad," she said, her voice breaking a little. "Right, let’s go."

They slipped into the line after squeezing each other’s hand briefly, and Rose fought to keep from shaking too hard as they walked past the line of Cybermen into the factory.


	50. Age of Steel (part 2)

"How did you get into this, then?" the Doctor asked Mrs Moore as they moved slowly through the cooling tunnels.  "Rattling along with the Preachers?"

"Oh, I used to be ordinary," she said, shrugging.  "Worked at Cybus Industries, nine to five. ‘Til one day, I find something I’m not supposed to. A file on the mainframe. All I did was read it. Then suddenly, I’ve got men with guns knocking in the middle of the night. Life on the run. Then I found the Preachers. They needed a techy, so I… I just sat down and taught myself everything."

"What about MR Moore?" he asked.

"Well, he’s not called ‘Moore’," she said.  "I got that from a book, ‘Mrs Moore’. It’s safer not to use real names. But he thinks I’m dead. It was the only way to keep him safe. Him and the kids. What about you? Got any family, or…?"

"I’ve got Rose," he said without thinking.

"Oh, are you two married?" she asked.

"Um…no," he said.  "She’s my…" _Everything_ , he thought.  He wearily pushed aside the negative thoughts that instantly popped up about losing her one day.  He was getting tired of listening to them.  They didn’t change what she was _now_.  “She’s home,” he said finally.  “Go on then,” he continued after a moment.  “What’s your real name?”

"Angela Price," she said.  He nodded with a smile.  "Don’t tell a soul."

"Not a word."

oOoOo

“ **You will wait** ,” a Cyberman said, stopping Rose at a junction before moving on.

"Are you okay?" Pete asked quietly behind her.

"No," she said honestly, panic clawing at her.  She was finding it difficult to breathe, but she forced herself to remain as calm as possible.

They watched as people filed forward impassively to the upgrade chambers.  Blades swooped down on them, followed by pieces of Cyber suits.

"Any sign of Jackie?" he asked.

A Cyberman turned to them as he spoke.  They both froze.  The Cyberman watched them for a moment before stomping over.

“ **You are Peter Tyler** ,” it said.  “ **Confirm: you are Peter Tyler** ,” it repeated when he didn’t say anything.

"Confirmed," he said uncertainly.

“ **I recognize you** ,” it said.  “ **I went first. My name was Jacqueline Tyler**.”

"WHAT?" Pete yelled, and Rose closed her eyes briefly.

“ **They are unprogrammed** ,” it said.  “ **Restrain**.”

"You’re lying," Pete yelled desperately.  "You’re not her! You’re not my Jackie!"

“ **No. I am Cyber-form** ,” it said as several others joined it, ready to restrain them.  “ **Once I was Jacqueline Tyler.  Her brain is inside this body**.”

"Jacks, I came to save you," he said, his voice breaking.  Rose put a hand on his shoulder.

“ **This man worked with Cybus Industries to create our species** ,” the Cyberman said.  “ **He will be rewarded by force. Take them to Cyber Control**.”

It stomped away as Rose and Pete were grabbed from behind by other Cybermen.

"I’m sorry, Pete," Rose said quietly.  "I’m so sorry."

"Maybe there’s a chance, I dunno," he said, denial setting in.  "Maybe we can reverse it."

"There’s nothing we can do," Rose said.

"But if…if she remembers…"

"She’s not her anymore, Pete," Rose said, harshly than she meant to.  She was now gasping for air.  "Look at ‘em.  They’re all the same.  She’s not there anymore."

oOoOo

"I’ve been captured, but don’t worry," the Doctor said as he sauntered into the control room, untying his bowtie.  "Rose and Pete are still out there, they can rescue me—oh well, never mind."  The he noticed that Rose was pale and shaking again, and seemed to be struggling to breathe.  He grabbed her upper arms and leaned down to look in her eyes.  "Rose?  Rose!  Are you alright?"  She nodded weakly, and he could see her fighting to calm down.  He pulled her tightly into his arms.  "Just breathe…you’re alright.  What happened?" he asked Pete in a hard voice.

"They got Jackie," Pete said, his voice hollow.  "We were too late. Lumic killed her."

The Doctor closed his eyes briefly, feeling borrowed pain.  He rubbed Rose’s back, and felt her take a few deeper, albeit shuddering, breaths, and the trembling eased a little.

"Your mother is still safe and sound," he assured her quietly so Pete couldn’t hear.  "We’ll go see her when this is over, I promise."  She nodded against his chest, and took another deep breath before stepping back out of his embrace, looking a little more in control.  He watched her for another moment, hand still on her arm, but she gave him a little nod and he turned to focus on the situation at hand again. 

"So where is he?" he asked loudly.  "The famous Mr Lumic? Don’t we get the chance to meet our Lord and Master?"

“ **He has been upgraded** ,” a Cyberman informed them.

"So he’s just like you?" the Doctor asked.

“ **He is superior** ,” it said. “ **The Lumic Unit has been designated Cyber Controller**.”

They all turned to see a door slide open and a large Cybersuit in an elaborate chair rolled through.  The Doctor found himself disliking the man even more, not realizing until that moment it was possible.  The invalid would create a metal throne to rule over an army of steel.  Humans.

“ **This is The Age of Steel and I am its Creator** ,” said the Cyber Controller.

Rose stared hard at the monstrosity.  She couldn’t fall apart…not now, not yet.  She concentrated on her righteous anger that this…thing had come up with a plan to destroy the planet, a plan that would eventually bleed over into the near destruction of another universe, in his own selfish desire for immortality.  That helped.  The anger slowly took place of panic, and while she’d have to deal with both eventually, at least the anger kept her upright and breathing.  She even smiled a little when she heard the screaming start as the ear-pods were disabled and the people in the factory realized what was happening.

"That’s my friends at work," the Doctor said triumpantly. "Good boys! Mr Lumic, I think that’s a vote for free will," he said, and winked with a click of his tongue.

“ **I have factories waiting on seven continents** ,” Lumic said.  “ **If the ear-pods have failed, then Cybermen will take humanity by force. London has fallen. So shall the world. I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace - and unity - and uniformity**.”

"And imagination?" the Doctor asked.  "What about that? The one thing that lead you here. Imagination - you’re killing it, dead!"

“ **What is your name**?” Lumic demanded.

"I’m the Doctor."

“ **A redundant title. Doctors need not exist. Cybermen never sicken**.”

"Yeah, but that’s it! That’s exactly the point!" the Doctor yelled. "Oh, Lumic, you’re a clever man… I’d call you a genius, except I’m in the room. But everything you’ve invented, you did to fight your sickness. And that’s brilliant. That is SO human. But once you get rid of sickness and mortality, then what’s there to strive for? Eh? The Cybermen won’t advance. You’ll just stop! You’ll stay like this forever. A metal Earth with metal men and metal thoughts. Lacking the one thing that makes this planet so ALIVE. PEOPLE. Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people."

“ **You are proud of your emotions**?”

"Oh, yes."

“ **Then tell me, Doctor - have you known grief - and rage - and pain**?”

"Yes. Yes, I have."

“ **And they hurt**?”

"Oh yes."

“ **I could set you free** ,” Lumic said.  “ **Would you not want that? A life without pain**?”

"You might as well kill me," the Doctor said in a hard voice.

“ **Then I take that option**.”

"It’s not yours to take," the Doctor said.  "You’re a CYBER controller. You don’t control me or anything with blood in its heart."

“ **You have no means of stopping me** ,” Lumic said.  “ **I have an army. A species of my own**.”

"You just don’t get it, do you?" the Doctor asked, exasperated, as he scrubbed a hand down his face.  "An army’s NOTHING. ‘Cause those ordinary people - they’re the key.  The most ordinary person could change the world," he said, glancing at the camera.  Rose felt a shot of pride in both the Doctor and Mickey as she watched the beginnings of a plan between the two hatch before her eyes.  "Some ordinary man or woman… some idiot…All it takes is for him to find, say, the right numbers… say, the right codes… say, for for example, the code behind the emotional inhibitor. The code right in front of him. ‘Cos even an idiot knows how to use computers these days. Knows how to get past firewalls and passwords… knows how to find something encrypted in the Lumic Family Database, under… what was it, Pete? Binary what?"

"Binary 9," Pete said loudly, cottoning on.

"An IDIOT could find that code. The cancellation code. And he’d keep on typing. Keep on fighting.  Anything to save his friends," he said with a meaningful look at the camera.

“ **Your words are irrelevant** ,” Lumic said.

"Talk too much, that’s my problem," the Doctor said with a grin.  "Lucky I got you that cheap tariff, Rose. For all our long chats. On your PHONE."  He shot another meaningful look at the camera while miming a phone.

“ **You will be deleted** ,” Lumic said threateningly.

"Yes, delete, control, hash, all those lovely buttons," the Doctor said dismissively.   "Then of course, my particular favorite - SEND.  And let’s not forget how you seduced all those ordinary people in the first place," he added as Rose’s phone beeped.  "By making every bit of technology compatible with everything else…"

Rose opened the message and tossed the phone at the Doctor.  “It’s for you.”

He caught it deftly.  “Like this,” he said, slamming the phone into a slot.  The effect was immediate.  The code flashed on every screen, and the Cybermen around them began twitching and shuddering and clutching at their heads.

"What have you done?" Lumic asked furiously.

"I gave them back their souls," he said, grabbing the phone and tossing it to Rose.  "They can see what you’ve done, Lumic! And it’s killing them."

He grabbed Rose’s hand and ran from the room, Pete close behind.

“ **Delete! Delete! Delete!** " she heard Lumic crying from inside the room as they raced away.

They ran through the factory as bits of it exploded around them.  They found an emergency exit, but it was blocked by a huddle of twitching Cybermen.  The Doctor made a frustrated noise.

"There’s no way out!" he yelled, looking around frantically.

Rose grabbed the phone when it went off.  “Rose, can you hear me?” Mickey’s voice came over the speaker.  “Head for the roof!”

"It’s Mickey," she told the other two men.  "He says head for the roof."

They all scrambled for the stairs, trying to avoid the flames, sparks, and falling debris.  They made it onto the roof to see the zeppelin hovering above.

"Catch me complaining about you playing Playstation again," Rose said with a grin as she hung up and ran for it.  A ladder descended from the zeppelin as they reached it.

"You’ve got to be kidding," Pete said as they ran for it.

"Rose, get up," the Doctor said, supporting her as she climbed onto the ladder.

Once all three were clinging to the ladder, Mickey took off.  The Doctor grinned at her, but Rose looked down, holding tightly to the ladder.  The whole thing sank as Lumic’s Cyberform latched onto the ladder and tried to climb up.  The Doctor dropped his sonic down to Pete, shouting instructions.

"Jackie Tyler," Pete yelled, holding the sonic to the rope.  "This is for her!"

The whole ladder lurched again as Lumic fell into an an explosion below.

oOoOo

The Doctor ran straight for the TARDIS when they were on solid ground again, while Rose loitered a bit with Pete.  The next time she’d see him, it would be in the heat of battle.  She wanted to savor a calm moment while she could.

"So, what happens inside that thing, then?" he asked, nodding at the TARDIS.

"Oh…everything," she said, smiling at it as she felt the familiar buzz come back strong as power was restored.  She gave Pete a sidelong look.  "You wanna see?"

"No, I don’t think so," Pete said, shaking his head.  "But you two…you know, all that stuff about different worlds… who are you?"

She studied him for a moment.  She could tell him this much at least.  “It’s like you said…imagine there are different worlds. Parallel worlds. Worlds with another Pete Tyler… Jackie Tyler’s still alive…and their daughter…”

Pete stared at her, and Rose saw the realization dawn in his eyes.  “I’ve gotta go—“

"It’s alright," she said quickly.  "You’ve got things to do.  Great things.  All those Lumic factories out there…someone’s gotta take up the fight.  Just…don’t forget us, alright?"

Pete continued to stare for a moment, then nodded.

"Rose?" she heard the Doctor call, and she turned as he jogged up to them.  "I’ve only got five minutes of power," he said.  "We’ve gotta go."

"Remember what I said," Rose said to Pete, taking his hand and squeezing it briefly.

"Thank you," Pete said to both of them.  "For everything."

He took one last look at Rose, who could feel the tears burning her eyes, before turning on his heel and walking away.  Rose put a hand over her mouth to smother the sob that threatened to escape, and the Doctor put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Here it is!" Mickey said happily as he approached them.  Rose swallowed and turned with the Doctor, who kept his arm around her for a moment.  "I found it. Not a crease."

"My suit!" the Doctor said happily, releasing Rose to take it from Mickey.  "Good man! Now then, Jake - we’ve gotta run. But one more thing: Mrs Moore. Her real name is Angela Price. She’s got a husband out there, and children. Find them. Tell them how she died saving the world."

"Yeah, course I will," Jake said with a small smile.

"Off we go, then!" the Doctor said.

"Uh… thing is, I’m staying," Mickey said.

The Doctor froze and stared at him.  “You’re doing what?”

Rose stared as well, unable to think of anything to say.  Part of her wanted to beg him, plead with him to return to the TARDIS, while another part of her knew that this, somehow, was where he belonged.

"It sort of balances out," Mickey said.  “‘Cause this world lost its Rickey. But there’s me. And there’s work to be done with all those Cybermen still out there."

"Mickey…" Rose moaned softly.

"Rose, my gran’s here," he said.  "She’s still alive. My old gran - remember her?"

"Yeah," she said, wiping at the tears that were now falling freely.

"She NEEDS me," he said.

"What if I need you?" she blurted out.

He smiled a little at her.  “You don’t.  You haven’t for a long time.  You and him…you just need each other.”

"We…we can’t come back for you," Rose said miserably.

"Mickey, you need to understand, travel between parallel worlds is impossible,” the Doctor confirmed. “We only got here by accident. We— we fell through a crack in time. When we leave… I’ve got to close it. We can’t ever return."

Mickey looked at him, then glanced at Rose before drawing himself up.  “Doctor,” he said, holding out his hand and shaking the Doctor’s firmly.

"Take Rose’s phone," the Doctor said. "It’s got the code. Get it out there. Stop those factories. And good luck. Mickey the Idiot." the Doctor slapped his cheek lightly and smiled.  He glanced at Rose, touching her arm briefly before walking back to the TARDIS.

"Thanks," Mickey said as she handed him her phone.  "We’ve had a laugh though, haven’t we?"  He paused and studied her as she nodded.  "It’s like you said, back when we first met him.  You said, one day, we’d do amazing things together…you, and me, and the Doctor.  I reckon this is just part of that.  Dunno how you knew…but now…I’m glad you’re always right."  He smiled and she laughed tearfully before throwing her arms around his neck.  He squeezed her back tightly.  "Go on," he said after a moment.  "You’ll miss your flight." 

She nodded, and took another long look at him, leaning up to kiss his cheek before running for the TARDIS.  As soon as the door closed behind her, the Doctor flipped a switch and the engines started.  She grabbed onto the railing as they made the rough reentry into their universe.  Once they were stabilized in the Vortex, she stayed still another moment, stamping down the pain that she couldn’t explain to anyone, feeling a sort of cold numbness take over.  Probably wasn’t healthy, but it would do for now.  She turned and slowly made her way up the ramp toward the Doctor, who was watching her carefully, his hands buried in his pockets.

“Rose…you alright?” he asked softly.

“I’m always alright,” she said, and he arched his eyebrow gave her a small, sad smile.  He opened his mouth to say something, but then shook his head and instead offered again to take her to see Jackie after he’d changed his clothes.  He might know the code, but he wasn’t going to be the one to fight it.  All she had to do was keep herself together.  Somehow.


	51. The Stories We Tell

The Doctor leaned back in his desk chair, rubbing his fingers over his eyes beneath his specs before taking them off and putting them in his pocket.  He’d been making notes on the adventure in the parallel world in his journal, but his thoughts kept coming back to Rose in ways that…were not fit for journaling.  And although this was often the case, this was less out of being a dirty old man that completely staggered amazement.

She had been scared.  She had been completely petrified the whole time they were there.  Strangely enough, her terror in the face of the Cybermen only made her seem stronger, because she was still the one who had walked in through the front doors, and from what he understood, apart from the mild panic attack he’d found her in the grips of, Pete had been the one to lose his cool on the floor, not her.  And even afterwards…she still hadn’t fallen apart.  She was always alright.

The argument from a week ago played in his head again, as it had been at odd moments since it happened.  Every time it rang through him again, he felt a little more terrible.  And it wasn’t the usual guilt that came with the conviction that he was a monster because of the destruction he left in his wake.  No, that seemed like wailing self-indulgence compared to this.  This was an uncomfortable self-awareness born of the knowledge that she was completely right.  How many people had travelled with him only to be manipulated, abused, or abandoned when their wants or desires hadn’t matched his?  He had long ago retreated into his own ego to protect himself, first from those who would persecute him for challenging their myopic ideologies, then from those who were temporary, deluding himself into thinking that because he was more powerful than them, he somehow had a right to dictate their lives.

He hadn’t been searching for truth when he’d met Rose.  He hadn’t been searching for anything other than an escape from his past.  Then he’d met her, and he wanted someone around, someone to show off to, someone to provide him a buffer between himself and his pain.  But then she’d broken him down, piece by piece, and listened to his transgressions and his triumphs alike.  Then…she’d shown herself to be stronger than she had any right to be.  She’d taken the Time Vortex into her own head and not only survived, but bent it to her will.  She’d locked herself off and protected herself from a psychic attack that should have compressed her to death.  Add that to the fact that she never seemed to back down from anything, be it Dalek Emperor, Queen Victoria, or even a furious Time Lord.  And while the thought nagged at him that she shouldn’t, in all reality, be able to do _any_ of that…she still did, all the time.

He used to be kinder to her…he knew that.  But then came the GameStation.  Then came New Earth.  Then came Sarah Jane and everything she represented.  Then Reinette, and the broken time window, and Rose stranded and abandoned.  And in the midst of all of that, came the clinks and clunks of his armor falling to pieces around him.  In his fear of his growing feelings for her, he’d discounted her own power, because the more powerful she was, the harder it was to keep himself from her.  So he’d slapped her down, showed her without even thinking about it that between him and her, he would always come first.  He’d tried to manipulate her and control her, because it was second nature to do so whenever anyone started to get close.

He’d never expected someone to say no.  He’d never expected that anyone would actually attempt to stand up to him and take him down a peg.  He’d certainly never expected to wonder if that might be a good thing.

She had taken his view of his life and turned it on its side, so that everything was still the same, but from a complete different angle.  The things he’d seen as sins didn’t haunt him quite as much…and the things he’d justified for so long suddenly seemed every sort of wrong.

And the worst part, the part that broke him…was that she’d done it all out of love.  More than once, people had tried to show him some wicked part of himself as an attempt to hurt him, and he could brush it off sometime later based on the logic that the truth had been twisted by madmen.  For someone to do that and still love him was…unique.  He had no defense against that.

Somewhere along the line, between the battles and wars, between the many losses and burdens both real and perceived, he had gotten bent and twisted, and in doing so, had badly hurt people without even stopping to think about it, including the first person he’d really loved in longer than he could remember.  He’d never really had to deal with the consequences of his actions in his personal relationships.  He’d always run and never looked back.  Now for the second time in a few weeks, he was faced with a living, breathing consequence.  And this was so much more critical, because he couldn’t run from this one.  He couldn’t run from Rose.

_“DOCTOR!_ ”

He was up and sprinting for the door before the scream had even faded.  He darted across the hall to Rose’s room, banging on her door as he yelled her name.  The only response he got was another scream, so he cursed and burst through the door.

“NO! TAKE ME BACK!” she screamed as she thrashed in her bed.  “ _TAKE ME BACK!”_

“Rose!” he yelled, running to the bed and attempting to still her.  “Rose, you’re alright!  You’re safe!”

“NO!  DOCTOR!” she screamed again.  “Don’t go…please…don’t leave me here…”

To his horror, her screaming petered out into a desperate, pleading sob.

“Rose,” he said, his hand on her cheek.  “Sweetheart, I’m right here.  Rose, please wake up.  You’re alright.  I’m right here, you’re safe now.”

Her eyes finally opened, and he was stunned at the terror and pain in her eyes.  She stared up at him for a moment, then launched herself at him, her arms fastening around his neck.  He held her tightly, and could feel the hammering of her heart as she gasped for breath in his arms.  It shocked him to see her this vulnerable.

“It was a dream, Rose,” he said softly, stroking her hair.  “Just a dream.  You’re alright.  I’m right here.”

“I just…I was just…so alone…” she said, and then she was crying.  “Everyone…everyone left me.  Everyone was gone.  I was so alone.”

He rocked her gently as she sobbed against his chest.  As she clung to him, it hit him how remarkably one-sided their relationship really was.  He’d known since he met her that she had nightmares—though certainly not to this caliber—but she hadn’t offered any information, and he hadn’t really bothered to investigate.  She was so strong, all the time, that it never really occurred to him that she might need him for things other than saving her from catastrophe that she inevitably wandered into when they were out exploring, and certainly not that she might need him as much as he needed her.

He really was…thick.  Or blind.  Probably both.  Either way…things needed to change.  If she was bent on sticking around for the moment, he couldn’t keep pushing her away when it suited him.  No matter how much safer he might be maintaining emotional distance, she deserved more from him.

It was several more minutes before Rose’s tears finally slowed, then stopped.  She laid quietly against him for another minute after that, weak from the emotional storm.  He made no move to stop her.

“Your shirt is soaked,” she said eventually.  “Sorry.”

He glanced down and made a dismissive noise.  “It’ll dry.  Although…glad I’d already taken off my jacket.  Salty tears are murder on fine wool,” he added with a grin.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, rolling her eyes.  Then she seemed to realize that she was still sitting on his lap, cradled in his arms.  “Um…Doctor?”

“Right,” he said, moving her gently to the side.  “This calls for tea.”

She smiled weakly and let him pull her up and lead her to the kitchen.  It struck him again how bizarre of a twist it was for him to be making tea while she shook off the remnants of a nightmare.  Something was definitely wrong about the way she was constantly taking care of him without him even realizing that she might need help.

“We need to talk,” he said quietly as he put her tea in front of her and took the seat next to her.  She stiffened, eyes widening.  “No…don’t…don’t do that.  It’s not like that.”  He ran a hand through his hair and let out a breath in a whoosh.  “I…no, you know what, before I get into that.  Do you want to tell me what your dream was about?”

“I…well, I told you,” she said, her eyes taking on some of that haunted quality from before.  “Everyone was gone.  I got…taken from you.  And then everyone else got taken from me.  And I was alone.”

“And that’s what scares you most,” he said softly, his mind thrown back to Platform One.  “Being left alone…and leaving people behind…oh, Rose…”

“It’s not…new,” she said with a small shrug.  “Just…worse.”

“Because of the parallel world?” he asked softly.  She nodded.  “Why this one?  Why was this one so much harder on you?  Because of Pete?”

She shrugged, slumping in her seat again.  “He was my dad, Doctor.  He might not know it, but he was.  Being there…it was…everything I always thought I wanted, and everything I can never have, even before the Cybermen showed up.  And then…all the destruction, all those deaths, just for one man’s pride and selfish search for immortality.  It was just—“ she stopped, drawing a shuddering breath and shaking her head.  “There’s just so much senseless pain in the universe to fight against, you know?”

He did know.  He sat stunned, staring at her.  It wasn’t so much the words as the fact that they were so achingly familiar.  He’d thought them so many times.  Now, her words from earlier came back to him with a completely different spin…she’d said she was always alright.  At first, he’d almost thought she was mocking him.  But no…she really had said it for the same reason he did.  Which meant that she was as far from alright as she could possibly be, but didn’t think there was anything that could change it.

She was starting to sound like him.  No, not starting to.  She’d been sounding like him for a long time.  And while that wrenched at him, it bolstered his resolve to fix the situation.  She had made him feel less alone than he had in his entire life…he couldn’t let her continue to believe that she was alone instead.

“I’m sorry that it…happened…the way it did,” he said slowly.  “And Mickey?”

“Mickey needed that place,” she said.  “And it needs him.  More than I do.”

He nodded.  She had said as much to Jackie as well when they’d gone to visit.  He just had to be sure before he launched into anything else.  He shifted uncomfortably for a moment, unsure exactly how to shift the conversation to what he needed to talk to her about, and realizing there really wasn’t a way other than simply jumping into it.

“Rose…about that argument last week…” He took a deep breath, and scrubbed a hand over his face.  “I need to apologize to you for…well, quite a lot really.  You were right.  I have spent…a very long time assuming control over the destinies of others, making their decisions for them, assuming in my own arrogance that I knew what was right for everyone.  I have lived…incredibly selfishly, and because I spend so much of my time fighting other people’s battles, I somehow decided that made it alright.  I’ve held myself above the people around me, the people who cared about me, ignoring their needs and feelings and imposing my will on them, because it was easy, and they were temporary.  So many people have seen me as the genius who could save everyone, and they could bottle away the pain I inflicted on them simply because of that.  Having a personal relationship in which I’m actually held accountable for my actions is…unheard of.”

He paused, collecting his thoughts again.  He chanced a look at her to see her watching him curiously.  Her large eyes still didn’t hold judgment—but she wasn’t arguing with him either.

“I haven’t been fair to you,” he continued after a moment.  “I’ve hurt you in a million tiny ways since we met, partially because…well, that’s what I do, and partly out of fear of how I…how close we’ve gotten.  I don’t want to hurt you anymore, Rose.  And I don’t want to lose you.  You’ve given me…oh, so much more than you know, more than I can explain and far more than I deserve.  And I’m sorry that I haven’t given you more in return.  I can’t tell you how sorry I am for all the ways that I’ve taken away your faith and trust in me.  But I really do want to fix that.  There’s a lot of things I can’t guarantee…but there’s two things that I can promise you.  The first isn’t new: while I’m still breathing, while there’s still a way, I will always come for you.  I may have tainted that promise some, but there it is.  The second…” he hesitated.  Just by promising this, he was relinquishing reins he had held for so long.  But this was the girl who had burned her own mind not because he’d told her to, or for the success of a plan, but simply because she wanted to save _him_.  He owed her something.  “The second is that I will never send you away again.”

Her jaw dropped.  “No matter what?” she hazarded, suspicious.

“No matter what,” he confirmed.  “That’s not to say I won’t suggest you leave if it’s really dangerous, and that doesn’t mean you need to be completely cavalier about your own safety or the safety of others.  But I’ll never send you against your will, and I’ll never lie to you.  You deserve…well, a lot more than that, really, but it’s a start.”

“Yeah…it’s a start,” she said, a smile creeping onto her lips.  “So you really won’t try to trick me into going home or anything again?”

“No,” he said, then forced out a chuckle.  “What would be the point?  You’re so stubborn, you’d probably rip apart Time itself if that’s what it took to get what you wanted.”

“Count on it,” she said fervently, and he really did laugh.  He sighed and ran his hands over his face before crossing his arms and leaning back, his legs stretching out under the table.

“You know, Rose,” he said, “you’re really ruining my image as some sort of lonely god.”

“Is that so bad?” she asked, her head tilting to the side.

“Nah,” he said.  “I make a really bad god.”

“I dunno…you’d make a decent god of arrogance,” she said, and he looked up sharply to see her teasing grin back in place.

“Mm…maybe,” he said slowly.  “Still, could be worse.”  She arched an eyebrow at him, and he grinned.  “At least I’m foxy,” he said with a wink and a click of his tongue.

She burst out laughing, and he delighted in the sound.  The tension he’d felt between them for weeks finally started breaking down, and he was finally able to breathe.  It astounded him how not feeling close to her could completely disrupt his life.  With a groan, he stood and pulled her up into his arms for a tight hug.

“Are you feeling better, Rose?” he asked, pulling away to press a hand to her cheek.  “About your dream?”  She nodded as she pressed against his hand a little.  As he looked down at her, very different sort of tension came about between them.  One that wasn’t altogether unpleasant, but, regardless of his new ability to display some of his affection for her, hadn’t been around this perceptibly since before they had gone to that school.

The tingle in the air spelled danger for the Time Lord, but as he leaned in and kissed Rose, he didn’t care.  With all the other dangers they faced in their lives, this was one he didn’t mind so much anymore.

“You should…really get some more sleep,” he said breathlessly against her lips after several minutes.

“Can you come with me?” she asked.  His eyebrows flew up and he let out an incredibly unmanly squeak, making her giggle.  “Not like that.  Just to stay with me…just til I fall asleep.  Please?”

He looked down at her for a moment, hesitating.  Holding her in her bed while she slept was so outside what he would normally allow it wasn’t even a consideration, but not really so much with her.  He sighed and nodded, taking her hand before leading her back to her bedroom.  She crawled into bed while he toed off his chucks before joining her.  He pulled the covers over both of them before wrapping his arms around her.  She cuddled into him, and he breathed in her scent, one that he’d always found intoxicating.  He pressed his lips against her hair, his fingers once again tracing ancient designs of impossible things on her back as she drifted off.  He stayed long after she fell asleep, telling himself he didn’t want her waking up from another nightmare alone.  But, as his eyes drooped, he admitted he didn’t want to wake up alone either…and he was never as comfortable as when she was in his arms.

The TARDIS sang soothing songs to both her precious passengers, who slept peacefully for the first time in weeks, wrapped in each other’s arms.


	52. The Idiot’s Lantern (part 1)

The TARDIS landed with a groan, the time rotor wheezing to a halt.  It was a full minute before either of her passengers noticed this.  They were currently occupied…with each other.

The Doctor had taken Rose’s necklace to affix yet another charm—an intricate and tiny dreamcatcher—and when he leaned in to fasten it again, they had exchanged a heated look, one that ended with him kissing her for all he was worth.  When the TARDIS landed, Rose was backed against the console, one arm snaking up his back while the other was buried in the Doctor’s fantastic hair.  He had one hand on her back and the other at the base of her neck, and he was pressing himself against her while he kissed her greedily, intent on tasting every inch of her mouth.  He finally pulled back when they were both completely breathless, and they stared at each other for a long moment, both their eyes fever bright.

"I’ll just…um…wait for you outside," Rose said after a moment, edging around the console and out of his embrace.

"Right.  Yeah.  Good, good," he said, leaning heavily on the console as she stepped away.

She fanned herself as she walked toward the doors.  Ever since the parallel world and their talk after her nightmare, the Doctor had been…different, in some way she was having trouble defining.  Something was shifting in their dynamic, and while she couldn’t put her finger on it…if it led to moments like that, she wasn’t going to complain.

What were they doing again?  Something about…Elvis.  Seeing Elvis.

"I thought we’d be going for the Vegas era," she said, still a little unsteady on her feet.  "You know—the white flares and the…grrr, chest hair."

"You are kidding, aren’t you?" the Doctor squeaked, poking his head out the door.  "You wanna see Elvis, you go in the late 50’s! The time before burgers.  When they called him ‘the Pelvis’ and he still had a waist," he added as he slipped back inside and Rose laughed.  “What’s more, you see him in style!"

Rose turned at the sound of the engine, and watched the Doctor ride out in a TARDIS blue scooter.  He stopped in front of her as she giggled.

"You goin’ my way, doll?" he asked with a passable Elvis impersonation.

"Is there any other way to go, daddy-o?" she asked as she slipped on her sunglasses and sauntered toward the scooter.  "Straight from the fridge, man!"

"Hey, you speak the lingo!" he cried delightedly as he tossed her a pink helmet.

"Yeah well…me, mum, Cliff Richard movies every Bank Holiday Monday," she said as she put on the helmet and climbed behind him, wrapping her arms tight around his waist.

"Ah, Cliff!" he said, pulling a face.  "I knew your mother’d be a Cliff fan."

"So this is what, Bessie Jr?"

"Oi!" he cried, scandalized, as he drove off.  "There can only ever be one Bessie.  This here’s Annabelle."

"Why’re all your means of transportation named like cows?" she asked, giggling.

"Better question is why do you lot insist on naming your cows like means of transportation," he said.

She shook her head, grinning.  “So where we off to?”

"Ed Sullivan TV Studios," he replied.  "Elvis did ‘Hound Dog’ on one of the shows, there were loads of complaints. Bit of luck, we’ll just catch it."

"And that’ll be TV studios in…New York, yeah?" she asked, barely glancing around.

"That’s the one!" he said happily, just as a red London bus drove past the end of the street.  The Doctor stopped the scooter and looked around, bemused.

"Digging that New York vibe!" Rose said with a laugh as they took in the Union flag bunting crisscrossing the street.

"Well…this COULD still be New York," he said defensively.  "I mean this looks very New York to me…sort of…Londony New York, mind…"

"And the flags?" she asked, nodding at the bunting.

He glanced up and then back at her.  “Oh, blimey, I’m never gonna live this one down, am I?”

"Nope," she said with a laugh as he started the scooter up again to park it on the side of the road.

They got off and wandered for a bit, the Doctor pouting a little with his hands shoved in his pockets, until they walked past Magpie.

"There you go, sir," he was saying.  "All wired up for the great occasion."

"The great occasion?" the Doctor asked.  "What d’you mean?"

"Where’ve you been living, out in the Colonies?" he asked in disbelief.  "Coronation, of course."

"What Coronation’s that, then?" the Doctor asked, still confused.

"What d’you mean?" Magpie asked, bemused.  "THE Coronation."

The Doctor turned to Rose with a blank look on his face.  She shook her head at him.

"The Queen’s," she said, without any light going on. "Queen Elizabeth!"

"Oh!" he cried as it finally clicked.  "Oh, is this 1953?"

"Last time I looked," Magpie said.  Something was off about him, Rose realized.  It made her feel twitchy.  "Time for a lovely bit of pomp and circumstance, what we do best."

"Look at all the TV aerials," Rose said, nodding up at the chimney stacks.  "Looks like everyone’s got one. That’s weird, my nan said tellies were so rare they all had to pile into one house."

"Not round here, love," Magpie said.  "Magpie’s Marvellous Tellies, only five quid a box."

"Oh but this is a BRILLIANT year!" the Doctor cut in, hopping about in excitement.  "Classic! Technicolor, Everest climbed, everything off the ration…The Nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a happier, brighter future!" he added with an affected, BBC accent, spreading his arms wide.  Rose grinned at him before they heard a woman start shouting behind them.  They ran over as a man with a blanket over his head was bundled into a police car.

"What’s going on?" the Doctor demanded.

"Police business," said the DI.  "Now get out of the way, sir!"

"Who did they take, do you know him?" Rose asked as Tommy ran up.

"Must be Mr Gallagher," he said.  "It’s happening all over the place. They’re turning into monsters."

"Tommy!" shouted his father from his doorway. "Not one word!  Get inside now!"

"Sorry, I’d better do as he says," Tommy said apologetically.

The Doctor slapped on his helmet and slipped back on his sunglasses and ran for the scooter.

"All aboard!" he shouted, and Rose jumped on the back again before they took off.  Rose thought hard as the Doctor chased down the police car.  She hadn’t really been in the state of mind to remember her own name when they landed, let alone what had happened here.  Now it was all flooding back to her.  The aerials.  The Wire.  Magpie.  No wonder she’d felt twitchy when they were talking to him.  She considered her options as the Doctor stopped in an alleyway, griping about Churchill’s England and Stalin’s Russia.  They had started at Tommy’s house.  Better to get there again…she could figure out a game plan then.

"Monsters, that boy said," she commented, thoughtful.  "Maybe we should go and ask the neighbors."

"That’s what I love about you," he said happily.  "The domestic approach."

"Thank you," she said with an affected accent.  Then her brain clamped on to the word that changed, and she stared at the back of his head as the moped swung around.  That was the first time, ever, in either time with him, that he’d used _that_ word in connection with her.  She felt her face heat considerably.

They jumped off the bike when they reached the street they’d been on before, and jogged up to Tommy’s door.  They stopped when they heard shouting inside, exchanging a look before the Doctor rang the bell.

"Hiiiiii!" they rang out in chorus as Tommy’s father answered the door.

"Who are you, then?" he asked suspiciously.

"Let’s see then," the Doctor said, eyeing him.  "Judging by the look of you—family man, nice house, decent wage, fought in the war—therefore, I represent Queen and country!" he said rapid fire, holding up the psychic paper.  "Just doing a little check of Her Majesty’s forthcoming subjects for the great day. Don’t mind if I come in? Nah, didn’t think you did, thank you!"

He barged past the man before he had a chance to protest, and Rose quickly followed suit.

"Not bad, very nice!" the Doctor said, glancing around as they entered the living room.  "Very well kept! I’d like to congratulate you, Mrs…?"

"Connolly," the mousey woman said timidly.

"Now then Rita, I can handle this," Mr Connolly said.  "This gentleman’s a proper representative!"  The Doctor gave Rita a wink as Rose perched herself on an armchair.  "Don’t mind the wife, she rattles on a bit."

"Well, maybe she should rattle on a bit more," the Doctor said, earning shocked expressions from Tommy and Mr Connolly.  "I’m not convinced you’re doing your patriotic duty.  Nice flags," he said, nodding at the bunting.  "Why are they not flying?"

"There we are Rita," Mr Connolly said, annoyed.  "I told you—get them up, Queen and country!"

"I’m sorry—“ Rita began, but the Doctor waved her back with a frown on his face.

"Get it done!" Mr Connolly yelled.  "Do it now."

"Hold on a minute—“ the Doctor started.

"Like the gentleman says—“

"Hold on a minute," the Doctor repeated, louder.  "You’ve got hands, Mr Connolly. Two big hands! Why is that your wife’s job?"

"It’s housework, innit?" Mr Connolly said derisively.

"And that’s a woman’s job?" the Doctor asked.  Rose bowed her head to hide her smile.

"Course it is!"

"Mr Connolly, what gender is the Queen?" the Doctor asked, rocking forward on his toes.

"She’s a female," he replied, confused.

"And are you suggesting the Queen does the housework?" the Doctor asked.  Rose smile widened, and she saw a small smile on Tommy’s face as well.  Even mousey Rita seemed to stand a bit taller.

"No! Not at all!" Mr Connolly said defensively.

"Then get busy," the Doctor said, handing him the string of flags.

"Right, yes sir," he said, taking the flags and turning to hang them.  "You’ll be proud of us, sir! We’ll have Union Jacks left, right and center!"

“‘Scuse me, Mr Connolly, hang on a minute!” Rose said, jumping to her feet with her hands on her hips.  “Union Jacks?”

"Yes, that’s right, isn’t it?" he asked, confused again.

"That’s the Union Flag," she said, nodding at it.  "It’s the Union Jack only when it’s flown at sea."

"Oh…oh, I’m sorry, I do apologize!" Mr Connolly stammered, humbled.

"Well, don’t get it wrong again, there’s a good man.  Now get to it!" she added forcefully.

She bit her lip and smiled at the Doctor as Mr Connolly hastily got back to work.  The Doctor smiled a little and shook his head as they both sat on the sofa.

"Right then! Nice and comfy, at Her Majesty’s leisure!" he said happily, then aside to Rose he added, "Union Flag?"

"Mum went out with a sailor," she told him.

"Oohohohoo! I bet she did!" he said, grinning before addressing the room again.  "Anyway, I’m the Doctor and this is Rose, and you are?" he asked Tommy.

"Tommy," he said in a surprised voice.

"Well, sit yourself down, Tommy," he said as he and Rose moved apart to make room for him, and the Doctor gestured for Rita to sit as well.  "Have a look at this," he said, leaning foward on his elbows to look at the television.  "I love telly, don’t you?"

"Yeah, I think it’s brilliant!" Tommy said happily.

"Good man!" the Doctor said, as they watched the program for a moment.  "Keep working Mr C!" the Doctor called over his shoulder before turning to Rita and dropping his cheerful act.  "Now, why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?" he asked quietly, so Mr Connolly wouldn’t hear.

"Did you say you were a doctor?" Rita asked with reluctance.

"Yes, I am."

"Can you help her? Oh please, can you help her, Doctor?" Rita begged.

"Now then Rita," Mr Connolly interrupted, hearing the last part of the conversation.  "I don’t think the gentleman needs to know—“

"No, the gentleman does!" the Doctor said quickly, cutting him off.

"Tell us what’s wrong," Rose said gently as Rita began to cry.  "We can help."

Rose stood up and moved over to her as she began to cry harder, shaking her head helplessly.  She perched on the arm of her chair and wrapped an arm around her as the Doctor watched, concern growing on his face.

"It’s alright," Rose said softly.  “It’s gonna be alright.”

"Hold on a minute!" Mr Connolly burst out.  "Queen and country’s one thing, but this is my house! What the—what the hell am I doing?"  He glanced down at the flags in his hands and threw them to the ground.  The Doctor looked over at him, propping his head on his fist, giving the appearance of complete calm, but Rose could see the tension coming off of him in waves. "Now you listen here, Doctor! You may have fancy qualifications, but what goes on under my roof is my business!"

"Not if people are being bundled into—“ the Doctor started angrily.

"I am talking!" Mr Connolly shouted.

The Doctor shot to his feet, looming over Mr Connolly.  “And I’m not listening!” he shouted. “Now you, Mr Connolly, are staring into a deep, dark PIT of trouble if you don’t let me help.  So I’m ordering you—SIR!—to tell me what’s going on!”

Mr Connolly floundered for a moment, but the sound of banging coming from the floor above stopped him from whatever he was planning to say.  All their eyes rolled upwards.

"She won’t stop," Mr Connolly said, sounding a little fearful.  "She never stops."

"We started hearing stories, all round the place," Tommy said in a shaky voice, and the Doctor turned to look at him.  "People who’ve…changed. Families keeping it secret ‘cause they were scared. The police started finding out. We don’t know how, no one does. They just…turn up, come to the door and take ‘em.  Any time of the day or night."

"Show me," the Doctor ordered.

Tommy led them upstairs to a locked door.  He unlocked it, and opened the door carefully into a dark room.

"Gran?" he called.  "It’s Tommy. ‘S alright Gran, I’ve brought help."

Tommy stepped further into the room to allow Rose and the Doctor entrance, then turned on the light.  Rose shuddered when she saw the faceless woman.  The Doctor’s brow furrowed as he stepped forward to look at her.

"Her face is completely gone," he said, fascinated.  He scanned it with the sonic briefly while Rose stood by uneasily.  "Scarcely an electrical impulse left. Almost complete neural shutdown, she’s ticking over, like her brain has been…wiped clean."

"What’re we gonna do, Doctor?" Tommy asked.  "We can’t even feed her!"

A crash from downstairs made them all whirl around at the door.

"We’ve got company," Rose said quickly.

"It’s them, they’ve come for her!" Rita cried.

"What was she doing before this happened?" the Doctor asked hurriedly.  "Where was she?  Tell me, quickly, think!"

"I can’t think!" Rita cried.

"She doesn’t leave the house!" Tommy said.  "She was just—“

He was cut off as a large, burly man pushed his way in with some supporting officers.

"Hold on a minute!" the Doctor said quickly, raising his hands as he tried to buy time.  "There are three important, brilliant, and complicated reasons why you should listen to me. One—“

Rose shoved him to the side as the burly man swung at him, making them both stumble.  The man missed, but he and his associates used their distraction to throw a blanket over the old woman, bundling her out the door and down the stairs.

“Rose, stay here,” the Doctor said quickly before running out the door.

“You’re not leaving me,” she called, darting after him.

“No,” he said, looking genuinely confused.  “You can talk to the family, maybe the neighbors, you’re better at that.  See what information you can get, any sort of…any sort of pattern.  I’m going after them to see what the men in black know.  I’ll meet you back here and we can sort the rest out.”  He said all this in with his usual rapid-fire speed before kissing her quickly and tearing off down the stairs, leaping over the last few.  She heard the scooter start up just as the car was racing away, followed by another squeal of tires as the Doctor sped after them.

That was…different.  Did he actually just admit that she could do something better than him?  Or…was he just saying that because he thought here was safer than with him and trying to make her feel better?  She pushed both thoughts aside when she realized it didn’t really matter right.  The main point, right now, was that they had split up again.  He was off to find the Detective Inspector.  She had gone to Magpie’s.  Maybe, if she went this time, knowing what it was…maybe she could convince the Wire to give up peaceably before the coronation.

"You! Get the hell out of my house!" Mr Connolly said as they all turned back into the house.

"Yeah, I’m going," she said, walking down the stairs.  "Nice to meet you Tommy, Mrs Connolly. And as for you, Mr Connolly, only an idiot hangs the Union Flag upside-down. Shame on you!"  She gave him a cheerful smile and darted past him out of the house.

She wandered around until she found Magpie’s shop, stepping inside quickly.

"Oh, I…I’m sorry miss," he stammered.  "I’m afraid you’re too late. I was just about to lock the door."

"Yeah? Well, I wanna buy a telly," she said, closing the door behind her and stepping closer.

"Come back tomorrow," he suggested.  "Please."

"You’ll be closed, won’t ya?" she asked.

"What?"

"For the big day? The coronation."

"Yes, yes, of course," he said, stepping towards her and trying to usher her out the door.  "The big day.  I’m sure you’ll find somewhere to watch it. Please go."

"Mr Magpie," she said quietly.  "You and I both know that there’s something else going on here."

"I…I don’t know what you mean," he said nervously.

"Ordinary people are being struck down and changed, and the only new thing in the house is a television. Your television. You want to tell me why?"

"I knew this would happen," he said, resigned, as he locked the door.  "I knew I’d be found out."  

Rose watched him warily, and slowly turned her head toward the screen on her left.

"Right," she said, looking at the deceptively pleasant looking woman.  "This is your doing, is it?"

"Oh, what a clever child," the Wire said with a smile.

"Clever enough to know that you’re in over your head," Rose said.  "There’s a man out there, the Doctor, and he’s going to destroy you if you don’t stop this and let those people go."

"Oh, my dear," the Wire said.  "No mere man can stop the Wire."

"He’s no mere man," Rose said.  "Trust me, take the warning, and get out."

"I have another idea," the Wire said.  "I think that I’ll devour your sharp little mind instead."

Rose realized her mistake instantly; she tried to back away from the screen, but the red tendrils of energy shot out, and she felt herself being ripped away.

"Magpie!" she shouted.  "Help me!"

"Just think of that audience tomorrow, my dear," she heard Magpie say faintly.  "All sitting down to watch the coronation. Twenty million people. Things will never be the same again.  I’m sorry. So sorry."


	53. The Idiot’s Lantern (part 2)

"We started finding them about a month ago," DI Bishop was explaining to the Doctor.  "Persons left sans visage. Heads just…blank."

"Is there any sort of pattern?" the Doctor asked, skimming through paperwork.  It irritated him that this had been shoved away because of politics.  Granted, they wouldn’t have had the foggiest notion about what to do, but still…those were people down there in that cage.

"Yes, spreading out from North London," the DI continued.  "All over the City. Men, women, kids…grannies…the only REAL lead is there’s been quite a large number in—“

"Florizel Street," the Doctor said, thinking of Tommy and his gran.  He’d have to get back there soon and see what Rose had managed to come up with.  If anyone could find a pattern, she could.  She had more sense in her pinky than this lot on their best day…and this was not their best day.  He looked up as a knock came on the door.

"Found another one, sir," a policeman said, ushering in another blanket covered figure.  The Doctor dropped the files as he took in the pink skirt and matching heels.  _No.  No no no no._

"Oh, er…good man, Crabtree," Bishop said.  "Here we are, Doctor.  Take a good look. See what you can deduce."

The blanket was taken off her, and the Doctor stared in horror at Rose, face gone.

"Rose," he murmured, approaching her.

"Do you know her?" Bishop asked.

"Know her? She—“ he choked on the words.  He stood before her, looking down at her blank face.  The one he’d kissed an hour ago.  The one that could make his hearts hammer double time with one smile.  The one that looked at him with huge hazel eyes that saw straight into his soul.  The one he started falling love with the first time he saw it.  Something in the buzz of words behind him filtered through his agony.

"They did what?" he asked coldly, still looking down at her.

"I’m sorry?" Bishop asked.

"They left her where?" he asked, barely keeping a lid on his growing anger.

"Just…in the street." Bishop said.

"In the street," he said in a low, dangerous tone as his mind started burning in rage.  "They left her in the street. They took her face and just chucked her out and left her in the street. And as a result, that makes things… simple. Very, very simple. Do you know why?"

"No…" Bishop said, staring at him as he turned, taking off his specs.

"Because NOW, Detective Inspector Bishop," he shouted, fury breaking past his heartbreak. "There is no power on this _Earth_ that can stop me. Come on!”

He went with the Detective Inspector back to Florizel Street, back to the Connolly’s.

"Talk to me, Tommy,” he said in a low voice as the boy answered the door, tension radiating from him.  "I need to know what happened in your house."

He was cut off by the emergence of Tommy’s father, and he watched silently as the domestic drama played out between the coward and his son, jaw clenched painfully.  A part of him realized that he had to let this much happen for the sake of their family, while another, darker part of him roared, screaming at him to lash out at the senior Connolly for wasting his precious time while Rose was…He rolled his shoulders, burying those impulses as Rita spoke her piece and shut the door on her husband after urging Tommy to go help.

He stalked through the streets with the DI and Tommy as he grilled the boy on what had happened the night his gran had changed.  He realized that Rose had been right, her brilliant observations once again being dead on before he’d even understood the situation.  He tore off toward Magpie’s shop without noticing whether the other two followed.  He shoved an elbow through the window, the dark part of him not allowing him to bother with the sonic as he unlocked the door.  He shouted for the purveyor, ripping open drawers when that man failed to make an immediate appearance.  He found the portable television, then the faces…all the faces of all the people who had been taken, on every screen.  His blood boiled when he saw the face of Rose, calling for him.

"I’m coming for you," he said softly, crouching down and touching the screen with shaking fingers.  "I’m on my way."

"What do you think you’re doing?" he heard Magpie shout as he came forward.

The Doctor surged to his feet and strode forward, backing the man against a wall.  “Someone _infinitely_ more precious to me than your tiny little mind can comprehend has been taken,” he thundered, looming over the man. “I want her restored.  I think that’s beyond a little backstreet electrician, so tell me, who’s really in charge here?

"Yoohoo!" he heard a voice call as a screen crackled.  "I think that must be me. And you must be the Doctor the little girl spoke so highly of.  She was right…this one’s smart as paint."

The Doctor turned and stared at the face, his face hard, muscles tense.  He wanted to throw a fist through the screen when the thing mentioned Rose.  He knew that wouldn’t stop it, though, and that was the only thing keeping his tenuous restraint going at this point.

"Is she talking to us?" Bishop asked.

"Sorry gentlemen, I’m…I’m afraid you’ve brought this on yourselves," Magpie said, stammering as the Doctor pinned him with another dark look.  "May I introduce you to my new… friend?"

"Jolly nice to meet you," the image said with a smile.

"Oh my God, it’s her, that woman off the telly," Bishop said.

"No," the Doctor muttered distastefully.  "It’s just using her image."

"What…what are you?" Tommy asked.

"I’m the Wire, and I will gobble you up, pretty boy. Every last morsel. And when I have feasted, I shall regain the corporeal body, which my fellow-kind denied me."

"Good Lord," Bishop said as the picture became technicolor.  "Color television!"

"You will not," the Doctor said, his voice deadly calm.  "You made a huge mistake when you took her.  I’m guessing she tried to warn you, because that’s what she does.  ‘Cause, see, she’s the nice one—the good cop.  You should have listened.  But instead, you took her, and now you have to deal with me.  And I _will_ stop you.”

"Oh, you are such a fierce one," the Wire said, still smiling.  "I can see why she had such faith in you."

"Is this what got my gran?" Tommy asked weakly.

"Yes, Tommy," he said, not turning around.  "It feeds off the electrical activity of the brain, but it gorges itself like a great overfed pig. Taking people’s faces, their essences, it stuffs itself."

"And you let her do it, Magpie," Bishop spat.

"I had to!" cried the little man.  "She allowed me my face! She’s promised to release me at the time of manifestation."

"What does that mean?" Tommy asked.

"The appointed time," the Wire said with a mischievous grin.  "My crowning glory."

"Doctor—the coronation!"

"For the first time in history, millions gathered around a television set," the Doctor said.  "But you’re not strong enough yet.  That’s why you need this," he said, sauntering toward the screen and holding up the portable television.  "You need something more powerful. This will turn a big transmitter into a big receiver."

"What a clever thing you are!" it cried happily.  "But why fret about it? Why not just relax? Kick off your shoes and enjoy the coronation. Believe me - you’ll be glued to the screen."

The Doctor saw the red sparks fly out towards them, and his rage seared through his mind, giving him the power to fight against the paralyzing energy to reach for his sonic.  This thing was not going to keep him from restoring Rose or anyone else.  He vaguely heard it screech about him being armed before the energy released him and he sank into blackness.

oOoOo

When he came to, Magpie was gone and Bishop was changed.  Tommy still had his face, but he was out cold.  The Doctor roused him quickly before darting outside.  With the boys help, he worked out where he was and what the Wire was planning at Alexandra Palace.  A plan formed quickly in his mind and he darted back inside, collecting parts and bits of wire, throwing it all in Tommy’s arms before taking off again.  He stopped briefly at the TARDIS for cable and a tape, as well as his coat, before running for the transmitter.  He assembled the rudimentary video recorder as they ran, leaving Tommy in charge of keeping it on as he sprinted toward the tower, copper wire trailing behind him.  He climbed the tower without hesitation, pushing away memories of the other time he’d done this, with disastrous results.  He wouldn’t fall this time.

"Oh! Feast! Feeeastiiing!" he heard the voice of the Wire moan as he got closer.  "The Wire…is feasting."

"It’s too late!" Magpie yelled.  "It’s too late for all of us!"

"I shall consume you, Doctor," it said, and red light shot out at him, making him cry out in pain.  He growled as it left him, forcing himself to keep climbing.

"I won’t let you do this, Magpie!" he shouted.

"Help me Doctor! It burns!" the man shouted pathetically.  "It took my face—my soul!"

"You cannot stop the Wire," it said.  "Soon I shall become manifest."

The Doctor gasped as he was blasted again, but kept an iron grip on the tower.  This would end.  Everyone would be restored.  He was getting her _back_.

"No more of this!" Magpie was screaming.  "You promised me peace!"

"And peace you shall have," the Wire said acidly before blowing him into mere particles with another shot of red energy.

The Doctor reached for the box, but was zapped.  “Been burning the candle at both ends? You’ve overextended yourself missus,” he growled, reaching out again and managing to get a hold of the box.  “You shouldn’t have had a crack at poor old Magpie there.”  He cried out again as electricity shot through his foot.   “Rubber souls! Swear by them!”

He plugged the copper wire into the box, but nothing happened.  He looked down in horror.

"Oh dear!" the Wire said.  "Has our little plan gone horribly wrong, Doctor?"

_Come on, Tommy_ , he thought furiously, glancing down toward the ground.  Suddenly, the red light that was radiating across the city began to recede back to the tower, and the Wire shrieked.  The Doctor whooped.

"It’s closed down, I’m afraid," he said with a twisted grin.  "And no epilogue."

He watched until the television went blank, his face cold.

oOoOo

The Doctor and Tommy quickly made their way back to the warehouse where the faceless masses had been kept.  Tommy found his gran almost immediately and ran to her.  The Doctor scanned the crowd, not allowing himself victory until he found the one person he needed.  He finally spotted her chatting to someone, and beamed when she turned to him and smiled.  He strode up to her, putting a hand behind her head and crashing his lips down on hers as his other hand pulled her to him.  He shivered when she raised a hand to run through his hair as she returned the kiss, and he dipped her backwards a little before breaking the kiss to look at her.

"What have I said about cutting out the peril?" he asked in a husky voice.

"Why would I, if you greet me like that afterwards?" she asked with a gorgeous, cheeky grin.  He rolled his eyes and groaned before pulling her in to a tight embrace, swinging her around as she laughed.

oOoOo

The Doctor kept a tight hold on Rose’s hand as they made their way back to the block party of Florizel Street.  Rose was glad to be back from the dark, blank space she had been in, even more so when she was greeted so warmly by the Doctor.  She cast furtive glances up at him as he strolled along, giving the impression of someone completely at ease, but Rose could see marks of remaining tightness around his eyes and jaw.  She was certain the Oncoming Storm had made a marked appearance in the area, but wasn’t sure how to help relieve the leftover tension.

"We could go down the mall," she suggested.  "Join in with the crowd."

"Nah, that’s just pomp and circumstance," he said, picking up a piece of sponge cake.  "This is history right here."

"The domestic approach," she said with a grin.

"Exactly," he said around a mouthful of cake, laughing.

"So is the Wire trapped for good on that video?"

"Hope so," he said.  "Just to be on the safe side though, I’ll use my unrivaled knowledge of trans temporal extirpation methods to neutralize the residual electronic pattern."

"Is that a really clever way of saying you’re going to tape over it?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Yep," he said with a grin, and she chuckled.

He leaned against the table as they met up with Tommy, wrapping an arm around Rose’s waist as she stood next to him.  “Tell you what Tommy, you can have the scooter. Little present. Best…um…keep it in the garage for a few years though, eh?”

Tommy smiled a little, then frowned at something over the Doctor’s shoulder.  “Good riddance,” he muttered.

They glanced around to see Mr Connolly leaving the house with a suitcase.  “Is that it then, Tommy?” the Doctor asked quietly.  ”New monarch, new age, new world—no room for a man like Eddie Connelly.”

"That’s right," Tommy said firmly.  "He deserves it."

Rose studied him for a moment.  There was anger and a lot of bitterness…but there was still love there too.  “Tommy, go after him.”

"What for?" he asked, startled.

"He’s your dad," she said as the Doctor looked up at her.

"He’s an idiot," Tommy scoffed.

"Course he is," she agreed wholeheartedly.  "Like I said, he’s your dad. But you’re clever. Clever enough to save the world, so don’t stop there. Go on!"

Tommy hesitated, his gaze passing between her and his father, then nodded and walked away.

"You know you’re brilliant," the Doctor said quietly.

"Yeah," she said with a grin.  He laughed and stood, watching Tommy for a moment before taking her hand again and pulling her away to the TARDIS.  Apparently, the domestic approach did not have quite the appeal for him that it had last time.  She wondered now just how angry he had been when she had been gone.

She waited until after he’d put them into the Vortex to approach him, and watched as the leftover tension began to melt now that they were alone, along with the forced cheerfulness.  Now…he just looked tired.

“I’m sorry, Doctor,” she said quietly, moving to his side.

“What for?” he asked, brow furrowed.

“If I hadn’t gone to Magpie’s…I wouldn’t have gotten taken, and you wouldn’t have gotten so angry,” she said.

“Rose…that’s…that’s every sort of wrong,” he said, dropping back to the captain’s seat and running his hands over his face.  “Of course you went to Magpie’s…that’s what we _do._ That was the whole point of splitting up.  One of us would figure out something worthwhile.  It’s not like I expected you to just loiter at the Connolly’s if you got a lead.  It’s not your fault the Wire didn’t listen to your warning.”

“Hold on, how’d you know I warned it?” she asked, completely thrown.  He really had trusted her to work some of it out on her own…he wasn’t just trying to keep her out of trouble.  He wasn’t even yelling at her for wandering off.

“Because you’re brilliant,” he said with a proud smile.  “The good cop to my bad cop.  You warn them, and I take them out.”

“You always give them a chance,” she said distractedly.

“Yeah…but you’re a lot nicer than me about it,” he said with a shrug.  “I just don’t handle…losing you very well.”

She stared at him.  He was talking about them like they were a team…with individual strengths and everything.  And he didn’t even seem to notice it.

“What?” he asked after a moment, and she shook herself.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head with a bemused smile on her face.  “Are you feeling better now?”

He arched an eyebrow at her, then leaned forward to grab her arm, dragging her down to sit beside him as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I am now,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. 

“Me too,” she said softly, snuggling into him.  Forever was looking better and better…if she could just make it that far.


	54. Tipping the Scales

The Doctor and Rose wandered the streets of London in May, 1968, hand in hand and munching on ice cream cones.  They’d landed there to see the premiere of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and were now thoroughly entrenched in a conversation about what would happen if the TARDIS went insane.

“I think she’d boot you out first,” Rose said.

“Not a chance,” the Doctor said calmly, licking at his ice cream.  “I’m the Time Lord.  I know how to pilot her.”

“Barely,” she said with a giggle.

“Oi!”

“Oh, come on, how many times have we landed years or miles off from where you planned?” she asked, laughing harder.

“I’d like to see you do better,” he challenged.

“You’d have to let me pilot her at all to do that,” she said with an eyeroll.

“Yeah, and that’s just not gonna happen,” he said, putting an arm around her.  “There are many things, Rose Tyler, that you are absolutely fantastic at…avoiding crisis is not one of them.  If you were to pilot the TARDIS…well…I’d rather not end up materializing on a land mine or straight in front of a cannon.”

“Oh, cause we’ve never walked out to guns pointed at us when you’ve landed,” she snorted.

“Completely beside the point,” he said.  “Statistically speaking, I’ve had more successful landings than you.”

“That’s because you’ve been cruising around in her for centuries, while I have yet to pilot one flight,” she protested.

“You can’t argue with statistics, Rose,” he said with a shrug, licking at his ice cream casually.

She made an irritated noise and shook her head, and he grinned down at her.

“I still say she likes me better,” she said stubbornly.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he admitted.

“Hold on, what?”

“I said you’re probably right,” he repeated nonchalantly.  “Do you know, my own ship gave me the mental cold shoulder when you were mad at me?”

“You’re kidding,” she said.

“I’m not,” he assured her.  “It was alternated with waves of complete disapproval.  Apparently, my little stunt with the mirror irritated her greatly.”

“She wasn’t the only one,” Rose said darkly.

“Yeah, I know,” he said.  “She also thought you were right about my…control issues.”

Rose stopped, looking genuinely stunned by this.  “Really?”

“Umhm,” he said, munching on his cone.  “She thinks you’re good for me.  I tend to agree.  So yes, I think, if the TARDIS went insane and set out to kill us, I would definitely be the first to go.  Unfortunately, that also means there would also be no one to fix her, so you wouldn’t be far behind.”

“You think I’m good for you?” she asked, smiling.

“Don’t fish, Rose,” he said, spinning around and sauntering away.  “You know you are.  Someone has to keep me in check.”

She skipped up to him and slipped her arm through his, and they wandered in silence for a while.

In truth, the TARDIS’ reactions had confused him for a time.  Once he apologized to Rose, the ship had seemed content again.  But he’d gotten a wary vibe from her when Rose had called him out on his behavior, even after he’d moved on, like she was waiting for something.  Whatever it was hadn’t come, and she’d gone back to happy approval when he’d apologized to Rose the second time for everything else.

Now, however, he was faced with a dilemma.  Because now…they’re relationship was going critical.  And the really worrying thing was that while he was completely aware that even allowing kissing and cuddling between them was light-years beyond the realm of “okay,” there was a growing insistence that it didn’t matter how long she lasted, because that wouldn’t change what she was now, or how he felt about her.    Everything about her left him utterly speechless.  There was something, though…something intangible and elusive about her.  Some part of her stubbornly remained a mystery, and he could figure out _everyone_.  Everyone he met was so…simple.  But not her.  There were times she was every inch the human girl from the Powell Estates…but then she’d do something extraordinary that would leave him stunned and breathless and utterly confused as to who she actually was.  It was fascinating, but a little unnerving.

“Doctor?” she asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Hmm?”  He glanced down at her.  “No, hold on, let me guess: you have a question.”  She grinned up at him, and he looked down at her thoughtfully.  “Rose, who’s Jimmy Stone?”

She stopped and stared at him.  “What…why?”

“Oh, that’s new, isn’t it?” he asked, arching an eyebrow and popping the last of his cone into his mouth.  “Oh, we’ve taken plenty of long, introspective journeys into my psyche…but we’ve neglected yours completely.”  He paused, watching her.  “Who was he, Rose?” he asked softly.

“He was…a boy I knew,” she said slowly.  “A lifetime ago.  Not important.”

“Everything’s important,” he said simply, burying his hands in his pockets as he looked at her intently.

She sighed and shook her head.  “Met him when I was sixteen, and I thought he was amazing.  He was older, already 20, and he’d left school ages before.  He was a musician, had his own van and everything.  I left school to go on the road with him, cause I thought him and me had something special.  Turns out the only thing special was between him and his ego.  Thing is, he wasn’t even that great.  But he was the type to make himself feel better by making someone else feel worse, and I was always there, totally devoted, so he used me as his emotional punching bag.  He could find every insecurity I’d ever had and throw it in my face.  He was a terrible musician, but really talented at making me feel like…less.”

“Less what?” the Doctor asked quietly.  He was watching her carefully…the way she avoided his eyes, the way she’d wrapped her arms around herself defensively, the toneless, clinical way she told him the story.  Everything about her in this moment screamed of old, deep pain…and he’d never noticed.

“Less…everything,” she said.  “Less than human, really.  Nothing I did or said was ever good enough…and, for a while, he made me believe that I wasn’t good enough for anything, and that I should be grateful that he still wanted me around at all.  Well, until he took off without me from a pub.  Had to call Mum…god, that was shaming.”

“Rose…”

“No, it’s alright, Doctor,” Rose said, looking up at him finally.  “It was…a long time ago.”

He could understand a little more now why she’d been with Mickey.  Not bright, not exciting, but safe and loyal.  He badly wanted to…have a talk with this Jimmy Stone.  He was also finding some…rather disturbing connections to himself.

“So, let’s see if I’ve got this right,” he said slowly, looking up at the stars.  “You left home behind to follow a man who was older and represented freedom, and who in turn lorded himself over you and made you feel inadequate, only to abandon you…that sounds sickeningly familiar…”

“You’re not Jimmy Stone, Doctor,” she said quietly.

He took a breath.  “Yeah…I know…there’s just some…extremely unsettling parallels there,” he said, scratching at the back of his head.  He looked back down at her at her thoughtfully, raising his hands to cup her face after a moment.  “Rose…you are…so much more than I give you credit for most of the time.  I don’t ever, ever want you to think that you’re anything less than absolutely perfect.”

“I’m not perfect, Doctor,” she said.

“Yeah, you are,” he said.  “You’re stubborn as an ox, you have an attitude problem, you’ve got a temper, you’re incredibly opinionated, you’re too jeopardy friendly by half, you have a startling amount of patience with me, and absolutely none for anyone else, you have the same snide, sarcastic sense of humor I do, you’re sweet, you’re kind, you are willing to give _anyone_ a second chance, you’re loyal, and you’re absolutely fearless.  You also have a way of smiling at me that takes my breath away, and the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen.  You are the perfect Rose.”

She opened her mouth, but no words came.  He waited a beat, then lowered his head and kissed her, moving one hand to cup her head while the other went to her waist to pull her close.  They melted into each other as his tongue sought to taste her, and everything stopped.  The Doctor, the last of the Time Lords, lost track of time, and the spinning of the Earth, and the chaos of the universe as he held his precious girl in his arms.

“This can’t last,” he murmured when he finally broke away, his lips still hovering just an inch above hers.

“Does that make it less worthwhile now?” she asked softly.

“Maybe not,” he said before letting his lips descend again, savoring the stillness he could only find with her.   He felt himself tipping from the edge he’d walked so long into the danger zone, the distance still left between them closing as he fell.  She had saved him yet again by showing her own scars, giving him a reason to believe that neither of them had to be perfect to be perfect together…if only she could last.


	55. The Impossible Planet (part 1)

The Doctor closed the clasp on Rose’s necklace and pulled back to admire his handiwork.  Rose looked down at the new charm.  It looked a little like an old Victorian silhouette, but she could see two figures in it…a taller man leaning down to touch his forehead to a woman’s.  She smiled at it, thinking of how many times she and the Doctor had shared just such a position.

"It’s beautiful," she breathed.  She looked up at him to him see him beaming at her proudly.  She gave a teasing smile.  "But you know, this chain’s getting a bit full…amazing that I can even get to the key anymore."

His face fell.  “I can stop,” he said hurriedly.

"Don’t you dare," she said, and his face lit up again before he leaned in for a kiss.  He broke it quickly, though, as the time rotor wheezed, the sound more laborious than usual.  He frowned at it.

"That’s not right," he said quietly, and moved quickly over to the monitor.  Rose leaned over his shoulder, but knew she shouldn’t bother.  The screen was always in Gallifreyan, and while the Doctor seemed to be able to make perfect sense out of the random lines and circles, she was hopelessly lost.  "Hmm…" He looked up from the monitor at the door.

"What is it?" she asked.  "Where are we?"

"Not sure," he said, brow furrowed for a moment.  Then he glanced at her and his face cleared.  "C’mon," he said brightly, pulling her towards the door.

"Hold on, you said something wasn’t right," she said as they reached the door.

"I dunno what’s wrong with her," he said as they walked out, looking up at the TARDIS.  "She’s sort of… queasy. Indigestion, like she didn’t wanna land."

"Maybe…we shouldn’t be here then…" Rose said, looking around the cupboard with trepidation.  "If the TARDIS didn’t want to land…"

"Nah, probably nothing a little time off to recalibrate won’t fix," the Doctor said after a moment.  "Besides, when have we ever been ones to leave when there’s trouble?  And you know what else," he said, glancing around, "I think… we’ve landed inside a cupboard! Here we go!"

He pushed open the door to a sort of alcove.

"Some sort of base," he said, taking it in.  "Moon base, sea base, space base… they build these things out of kits."

"Glad we’re indoors," Rose said, listening to the howling outside as the Doctor opened another door.  She badly wanted to leave.  She didn’t want to be here.  There was so much that could go so wrong here…she didn’t want to face the Beast here again.

She tried to push these thoughts away…if they didn’t stay…would anyone survive?  How much had their help been integral?  That was the thing about these adventures…every single one was so vital, no matter how much it cost them.  She was starting to feel the burden, though, of walking these same paths again, watching people make the same mistakes, being helpless to stop the deaths that inevitably occurred around them.

_As does he,_ the TARDIS buzzed sadly, feeling a little weak.  _Keep faith.  You have come so far._   She felt no more thoughts, but a reassuring warmth filled her mind.  She took a deep breath and followed after the Doctor, who had stopped and was watching her curiously.  He held out his hand as she got closer, and she grasped it tightly, feeling better with him by her side.

"Human design," he said as they wandered.  "You’ve got a thing about kits. This place was put together like a flat-pack wardrobe, only bigger. And easier."

He released her hand to open another door, ushering her through with a hand on her back.

"Oh, it’s a sanctuary base!" he said happily, striding to the middle of the room as Rose closed the door.   "Deep Space exploration. We’ve gone way out."  Rose joined him in the middle of the room, and he slid a hand up to what had become, as of late, its natural resting point at the base of her neck.  "And listen to that, underneath…Someone’s drilling."

"Welcome to hell," she said, reading the wall.

"Oh, it’s not THAT bad!" he scoffed.

"Oh, d’you think?" she asked, pointing at the wall.

He looked over at it and frowned.  “Hold on,” he said, lowering his hand and striding over the wall.  “What does that say?” he asked, apparently himself, as he crouched down to peer at the strange writing underneath the decipherable words.   “That’s weird. It won’t translate.”

"So…if the TARDIS won’t translate it…what does that mean?"  Rose asked as she joined him.

"This writing is old," he said.  "Very old. Impossibly old. We should find out who’s in charge," he said, striding over to another door.  "You may have had a point, Rose…we’ve gone beyond the reach of the TARDIS’ knowledge. Not a good move. And if someone’s lucky enough—OH!"

He stumbled back into Rose as he opened the door in the face of the Ood.

"Right! Hello!" he said, trying to regain some composure. "Sorry! Uh… I was just saying, uh… nice base!"

"We must feed," the central Ood said.

"You’re gonna what?" he asked, brows flying up.

"We must feed."

"Um, hold on, feed on what?" Rose asked, even as the Doctor pushed her behind him and started backing away.

"We must feed," the Ood repeated, and the Doctor made a frustrated noise, spinning her around toward the other door, but it opened as they approached to let more Ood in.  Another group came from another angle, and they all started to advance.

“We must feed.”

Once again, the Doctor pushed her behind him, keeping a hand on her arm as the other went for his sonic.

"Doctor!" she shouted.

"WHAT?" he yelled back, keeping his eyes trained on the Ood.

"They haven’t actually attacked," she pointed out.  She couldn’t just blurt out that they’re communications were barmy.  "Um…’scuse me, what d’you mean ‘feed’?" she asked over his shoulder.

The Ood closest to them smacked its communication globe against its palm. “You,” it said, and the Doctor’s grip tightened.  “If you are hungry.”

"Sorry?" he said, completely nonplussed.

"We apologize," it said.  "Electromagnetics have interfered with our speech systems. Would you like some refreshment?"

"Um…" the Doctor trailed off, lowering the sonic and letting Rose step out from behind him.  He turned as another door opened and Jefferson came through, flanked by two guards.  His hand came back up to her neck, caressing her skin lightly with his thumb.

"What the hell?" Jefferson asked as he approached, stunned at their appearance.  "How did…?" He trailed off and stared at them before raising his wrist communicator.  "Captain… you’re not going to believe this," he said in an incredulous voice.  "We’ve got PEOPLE. Out of nowhere. I mean, real people. I mean two… living… people. Just standing here, right in front of me."

"Don’t be stupid, that’s impossible," came back the captain’s voice.

"I suggest telling THEM that," he replied.

"Why is it so impossible that you have visitors?" Rose asked.

"You’re telling me you don’t know where you are?" he asked in disbelief.

"No idea," the Doctor said with a grin.  "More fun that way."

"Stand by, everyone," they heard a voice call over the loudspeaker.  "Buckle down. We have incoming. And it’s a big one. Quake Point 5 on its way."

"Through here!" Jefferson called urgently, opening a door as the base started to shake. "Now. Quickly, come on!"

They rushed through the door down the corridor.  The shaking increased in severity, and sparks started flying.  Rose lost her footing at one point, and the Doctor wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her on.  They finally reached another door that Jefferson ushered them through, and they blinked at the stunned faces in the control room.

"Oh, my GOD," the captain—Zach—said.  "You meant it."

"People!" Scooti said.  "Look at that! Real people!" 

Rose looked around at the crew warily.  She decided that the best part of coming out the other side of Canary Wharf would be to not know the names of the people that were possibly going to die when she was supposed to be meeting them for the first time.

"That’s us," the Doctor was saying as he beamed at them.  "Hooray!"

"Yeah, definitely real," Rose said, forcing a smile.  "My name’s Rose Tyler and this is the Doctor."

"Come on," Danny said.  "The oxygen must be offline. We’re hallucinating. They can’t be… no. They’re real!"

"Come ON, we’re in the middle of an alert!" Zach called impatiently.  "Danny, strap up, the quake’s coming in! Impact in thirty seconds!  Sorry, you two, whoever you are. Just… hold on. Tight. Ood, are we fixed?"

"Your kindness in this emergency is much appreciated," the Ood said as the Doctor and Rose grabbed hold to some railings near the door.

"What’s this planet called, anyway?" the Doctor asked.

"Now, don’t be stupid," Ida said.  "It hasn’t got a name. How could it have a name? You really don’t know, do you?" she asked after a pause as the Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"And…IMPACT!" Zach called.

The base shook violently as they all clung to their various holds. It stopped fairly quickly, but Rose stayed where she was, knowing that was only the first wave.  The Doctor, however, did not, and stood up.

"Oh, well, that wasn’t so bad—!"

"Doctor!" she cried as the second, more severe quake hit and he was thrown back.  He grabbed hold of the rail again, and clung to it tightly as small explosions erupted from a console and sparks flew around the room.  When it finally stopped, Rose jumped across to him.

"You alright?" she asked quietly as Zach did a head count.  She touched his head gingerly, and frowned when he winced.

"I’m alright," he assured her quietly when he saw her face, pressing a hand to her cheek.  "You?"

"Yeah," she said, breathing deeply.

"We’re fine, thanks," the Doctor called to the room at large, dripping sarcasm. "Fine, yeah, don’t worry about us."  Rose snorted and he rolled his eyes as he was roundly ignored, sitting up carefully.

"The surface caved in," Zach was saying.  "I deflected it onto storage 5 through 8. We’ve lost them completely. Toby, go and check the rocket link."

"That’s not my department," Toby whined.

"Just do as I say, yeah?" Zach said, and Toby left grudgingly.

"Oxygen holding," Ida said. "Internal gravity 56.6. We should be okay."

"So, everyone survived the earthquake," Rose said, looking around.  "But what’s still shaking the roof like that?"

"You’re not joking," Ida said, looking at them in amazement.  "You really don’t know? Well - introductions. FYI, as they said in the olden days. I’m Ida Scott, science officer…Zachary Cross Flane, acting Captain, sir… you’ve met Mr Jefferson, he’s head of security. Danny Bartock. Ethics committee.

"Not as boring as it sounds," Danny cut in, making them grin.

"And that man who just left, that was Toby Zed, archaeology, and this…is Scooti Manista. Trainee maintenance," she finished, putting her hands on Scooti’s shoulders.  Scooti smiled at them as Ida walked over to a set of controls. 

"And this," the science officer said, "this is home."

"Brace yourselves," Zach said as she turned a lever and an overhead window slid open. "The sight of it sends some people mad."

The room was bathed in a red-ish light that came from the window as Rose and the Doctor both stood up to look up at the black hole above them.  Rose’s breath hitched as she watched the light being sucked into it.

"That’s a black hole," she said quietly.

"But that’s impossible," the Doctor said with a frown.

"I did warn you," Zach said.

"We’re standing under a black hole," the Doctor said in a stunned voice.

"In orbit," Ida said.

"But we can’t be…" the Doctor said.

"You can see for yourself," Ida said.  "We’re in orbit."

"But we CAN’T be," the Doctor insisted, looking over his shoulder at her.

"This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit around that black hole without falling in," Ida said firmly.  "Discuss."

"This is bad," Rose murmured.  Stupid black hole.  Stupid planet around the black hole.  Stupid humans and their boundless curiosity about anything odd or different.

"Bad doesn’t cover it," the Doctor said softly, his voice filled with dread.  "A black hole’s a dead star, it collapses in on itself, in and in and in until the matter’s so dense and tight it starts to pull everything else in too. Nothing in the universe can escape it. Light, gravity… time… everything just gets pulled inside… and crushed."

"We should be pulled right in," Rose said.

"We should be dead," the Doctor agreed, nodding.

"And yet… here we are," Ida said.  "Beyond the laws of physics. Welcome on board."

"Have you got any sort of schematics or anything that I could see?" the Doctor asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I can pull ‘em up," Zach said, punching at keys. A hologram of the black hole and planet popped up amidst the controls, and the Doctor leaned in, putting on his specs.  "That’s the black hole officially designated K37 Gen 5."

"In the scriptures of the Falltino, this planet is called ‘Krop Tor’," Ida said.  "The Bitter Pill. And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demon. It was tricked into devouring the planet, only to spit it out. Because it was poison."

Rose snorted.  “Well, that’s a glowing recommendation for exploration if I ever heard one,” she said.

The Doctor glanced at her and smirked before focusing on the hologram again.  “We are so far out. Lost in the drifts of the universe. How did you even GET here?”

"We flew in," Zach explained.  He pressed another button and the view changed to the planet with the gravity funnel denoted in rising concentric circles.  "You see…This planet’s generating a gravity field. We don’t know how - we’ve no idea, but… it’s kept in constant balance against the black hole. And the field extends out there.  A funnel. A distinct… gravity funnel, reaching out into clear space. That was our way in."

"Even so, a trip down that would be…well, risky at the very least," Rose said, looking at the hologram with her head tilted.  "Shouldn’t have been possible, really, even without taking into account the implausibility of the field itself.  Even if the ship held together through the tunnel itself, you should have smashed into the planet’s surface, not just landed, all safe and sound.  Stabilizing that thing would take some doing."

"By rights, the ship should’ve been torn apart," Zach said with a little nod. "We lost the Captain… which is what put me in charge…"

She studied the hologram as Ida tried to bolster Zach’s confidence.  It really was…wrong.  The Doctor turned slightly, putting his hand on her back.

“That was impressive,” he said quietly.  “Almost makes me believe that you listen to me when I prattle on about variables in gravitational forces.”

"Stranger things have happened," she said with a smile and a nod at the hologram, making him smile.

"But if that gravity funnel closes, there’s no way out," Danny said.

"We had fun speculating about that," Scooti said.

"Oh, yeah. That’s the word," Danny said, whacking her in the head with a rolled up diagram. "Fun."

"But Rose was right," the Doctor cut in.  "That field would take phenomenal amounts of power! I mean… not just big, but off the scale! Can I…?" he trailed off, gesturing to a calculator.

"Sure," Ida said.  "Help yourself."

He wandered off to sort out his calculations, and an Ood approached Rose with a cup.

"Your refreshment," it said.

"Oh yeah, thanks," she said, taking it.  "Thank you. So what’s your job around here then?"

"We are the Ood," it said.  "We live to serve."

"They work the mine shafts," Danny said as the Ood departed.  "All the drilling and stuff. Supervision, and maintenance! They’re born for it. Basic slave race."

"Slaves," she repeated, a little disgust coloring her tone.

"Don’t start," Scooti said.  "She’s like one of that lot. Friends of the Ood."

"Well maybe I am, yeah," Rose said.  "Since when do humans need slaves?"

"But the Ood offer themselves," Danny said.  "If you DON’T give them orders, they just pine away and die."

"Yeah?" she asked, eyeing an Ood.  "What were they doing before you lot started handing out orders, then?"  Danny stared at her, looking genuinely baffled.  She turned to the Ood approaching her.  "You like being ordered about?"

"It is all we crave," it said.

"Why’s that, then?"

"We have nothing else in life," it said.

She tilted her head as she considered it.  “Did you ever?  Before the humans came along, I mean?”

"I do not understand," it said.  "The Circle gives us peace.  In peace, we live to serve."

"There we go," the Doctor said, distracting Rose, and the Ood moved away.  "D’you see? To generate that gravity field, and the funnel, you’d need a power source with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds."

Rose blinked.  “Three sixes?  Seriously?”  He glanced down at her.  “Oh, c’mon, haven’t you seen The Omen?”

"It’s not an omen, Rose," he said with a shake of his head and ill-concealed smile.  "But it _is_ impossible,” he added.

"It took us two years to work that out!" the captain cried.

"I’m very good," he said with a sniff.

"But that’s why we’re here," Ida said.  "This power source is ten miles below through solid rock. Point Zero. We’re drilling down to try and find it."

"It’s giving off readings of over ninety stats on the Blazen Scale," Zach told them.

"We could revolutionize modern science," Ida said enthusiastically.

"We could use it to fuel the Empire," chimed Jefferson.

"Or start a war," the Doctor said darkly, taking off his specs.

"It’s buried beneath us," Toby said.  "In the darkness, waiting."

"What’s your job?" Rose asked.  "Chief dramatist?"

"Oh, says the girl talking about omens," the Doctor murmured with a smirk.

"Well, whatever it is down there is not a natural phenomenon," Toby insisted.  "And this, er, planet once supported life. Eons ago, before the human race had even learned to walk."

"I saw that lettering written on the wall," the Doctor said.  "Did you do that?"

Toby nodded.  “I copied it from fragments we found on earth by the drilling, but I can’t translate it.”

"No, neither can I," the Doctor said, raising his eyebrows.  "And that’s saying something."

"There was some form of civilization," Toby said.  "They buried something. Now it’s reaching out. Calling us in."

"And you came," the Doctor said with a grin.

"Well, how could we not?" Ida asked as Zach turned off the hologram.

"So, when it comes right down to it, why did you come here?" the Doctor asked, still grinning. "Why did you do that? Why? I’ll tell you why. Because it was THERE. Brilliant. Excuse me, ah, Zach, wasn’t it?"

"That’s me," the captain said with a nod.

"Just…stand there," the Doctor said.  “‘Cause I’m gonna hug you. Is that all right?"

"I s’pose so," Zach said with a shrug while Rose grinned.

"Here we go," he said, edging towards the other man.  "Coming in."  He threw his arms around the Zach, beaming, while the other man merely looked bemused.  "Ahh, human beings, you are amazing!  Thank you," he said sincerely as he released Zach.

"Not at all."

"But apart from that, you’re completely mad," the Doctor said, stepping back towards Rose.  "You should pack your bags and get back in that ship and fly for your lives."

"You can talk!" Ida said.  "And how the hell did YOU get here?"

"Oh, I’ve got this um…this ship… it’s hard to explain," he said.  "It just sort of…appears."

"We can show you, we parked down the corridor from um…" she trailed off, her mind a blaze of horror when she realized what had happened, remembered why they hadn’t just left when it all went to hell.

"Habitation Three," the Doctor said, oblivious to her distress.

"Do you mean storage six?" Zach asked sharply.

"Uh, it was a bit of a cupboard, yeah," he said cheerfully.

"Doctor," Rose murmured painfully as Zach and Ida exchanged an uncomfortable glance.

"Storage six," the Doctor repeated blankly.  "but you said…You said… you said storage five to eight."

He turned on his heel and sprinted out of the room, Rose hot on his heels.  He tore through the corridors, arguing impatiently with the doors, finally shouting at the one that wouldn’t open.

"It can’t be, it can’t be!"

"Doctor?" Rose asked warily as he looked out the window frantically.

"The TARDIS is gone," he said, backing away from the window, face ashen.  "The earthquake. This section collapsed."

She leaned up to the window and peered outside at the rocky landscape.

"Look down," he said softly.

She looked down and saw again the wide crevasse that had been opened up in the earthquake.  The TARDIS was down there somewhere…but fear still roiled through her.  Everything that had happened here came down to timing and luck.  There were so many small things that could change, with or without her help, which could be disastrous.

"Come on," the Doctor said, taking her hand and pulling her quickly through the corridors and back to the control room.

"The ground gave way," he said, releasing her hand and striding over to Zach.  "My TARDIS must’ve fallen down right into the heart of the planet. But you’ve got robot drills heading the same way."

"We can’t divert the drilling," he said simply, walking away.  The Doctor stared at him for a moment before hurrying after him.

"But I NEED my ship," he said urgently.  "It’s all I’ve got. Literally the only thing."

Rose winced but tried to ignore it.  It made sense that he would still count the TARDIS as the only thing he had.  It was all that was left of Gallifrey, and had been around far longer than her, and, as far as he knew, should have survived long after she was gone.  She may have become more significant…but she was still temporary in his lifetime.

"Doctor, WE’VE only got the resources to drill ONE central shaft down to the power source, and that’s it," Zach said in a clipped tone.  "No diversions, no distractions - NO EXCEPTIONS. Your machine is lost. All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place, and that… is the end of it." He turned and left the room.

"I’ll uh - put you on the duty roster," Ida said.  "We need someone in the laundry," she added before she followed Zach out of the room.

The Doctor looked over at Rose as they found themselves alone, even the Ood departing.  He walked over to her slowly and leaned on the console next to her, crossing his arms.

"I’ve trapped you here," he said softly.

"No, don’t worry about me," she said quickly.  The base suddenly shook again around them.  She looked up at the black hole above them, and drew a shuddering breath.  "Okay, we’re on a planet that shouldn’t exist, under a black hole… and no way out.  Yeah, I’ve changed my mind. Start worrying about me."

He pulled her to him, kissing the top of her head as she buried her face in his shoulder, leaning into his solid strength.


	56. The Impossible Planet (part 2)

She left the Doctor to copy down the writing on the wall while she got something to eat.  She smiled politely as Scooti’s warnings of what not to eat, sorely missing the TARDIS’ kitchen already. 

"Uh, bit of that, thanks," she said, pointing to something that looked vaguely familiar through the serving hatch.

"Would you like sauce with that?" the serving Ood asked.

"I’ll have a go, yeah."  She considered it as it shook some sauce out onto the tray.  "So what do you lot really get out of this servitude thing?  D’you get paid?  And…what’s the Circle?"

"The Beast and his Armies shall rise from the Pit to make war against God," it said in a polite voice.

"… I’m sorry?"

The Ood tapped its communications orb.  “Apologies. I said, ‘I hope you enjoy your meal’.”

"Right," she said quickly, moving away to a table.  She picked at the goop despondently.  It was starting, and they were trapped, for the moment at least, maybe forever if any little thing changed. 

The Doctor joined her when he’d finished copying down the writing on the wall.  He had his notes in front of him, leaning closely on his forearms as he clasped his elbows.  She took in his closed off posture and bit her lip.  He always reminded her of a tightly coiled spring at the best of times, force and motion barely restrained.  When he was upset, it got so much worse.  A bit like that black hole himself.  He coiled in and in on himself until either he broke, or everything around him did.

She pushed the tray away and reached over to tug at one of his arms.  He didn’t look up, but he did allow her to drag it away towards her.  She held the back of his hand in one of hers, tracing idle patterns on the palm.  She saw him shiver slightly as he uncoiled minutely, still studying the writing carefully.  It was something.

He didn’t look up until the lights flickered, his fingers curling around hers reflexively.

"Zach, have we got a problem?" Ida asked through her wrist communicator.

"No more than usual," came Zach’s reply.  "Got the Scarlet System burning up, it might be worth a look."

"You might wanna see this," she said, glancing at them before walking to a lever.  "Moment in history."  She pulled on the lever, opening the overhead shutters and revealing the black hole above them.  A stream of red light was spiraling inward from the edge.  "There. On the edge.  That red cloud…that used to be the Scarlet System. Home to the Peluchi…a mighty civilization spanning a billion years…disappearing. Forever. Their planets and suns consumed." She paused as they watched the last of it spiral away.  "Ladies and gentlemen…we have witnessed its passing."

"Er, no, could you leave it open?" the Doctor asked as she reached for the lever again.  "Just for a bit. I won’t go mad, I promise."

"How would you know?" she asked, but didn’t close it.  "Scooti, check the lockdown.  Jefferson, sign off the airlock seals for me."

Once again, they were left alone.  The Doctor shifted his grip on her hand slightly, running his thumb over the back as they stared up at the black hole.

"I’ve seen films and things," Rose said absently.  "They say black holes are like gateways to another universe."

"Not that one," he said.  "It just eats."

"Long way from home," she said softly.  She was thinking of her mother, but truth be told, her mother’s Powell Estate flat hadn’t been home in a long, long time.  Still, as far as her mother was concerned, she’d only been travelling a bit more than a year and a half.

"Go that way," the Doctor said, twisting to point with his other hand.  "Turn right, keep going for um… about five hundred years… then you’ll reach the Earth."

She took out her phone and glanced at it.  She wasn’t surprised when she saw no bars.  “No signal. That’s the first time we’ve gone out of range. Mind you, even if I could… what would I tell her…?”  She paused, looking up at him.  “Still, could be worse. This lot said they’d give us a lift.”

"And then what?" he asked, tearing his gaze away from the black hole to look at her.

"I dunno," she said, smiling a little when she remembered this conversation.  "Find a planet…get a job…live a life, same as the rest of the universe."

"I’d have to settle down," he said, his face relaying so much horror that she giggled.  "In a house or something, a proper house with…with…with…with DOORS and things. Carpets! Me! Living in a house!  Now that…that is terrifying."

"You’d have to get a mortgage," she sing-songed.

"…No."

"Oh yes."

"I am dying. That’s it. I am dying, it is all over."

"What about me? I’d have to get one too."  She looked down at their linked hands.  "Or we could share one."

“Well…that might at least make it bearable,” he said slowly, watching her closely as she looked up at him in surprise.  “Although…you might burn the place down the first time you try to cook,” he said with a grin.  She laughed, and then he looked down at their hands.  “But I promised Jackie I’d always bring you home.”

“It’s not your fault,” she said softly.  “Everyone leaves home in the end.”

“You’d forgive me just about anything, wouldn’t you?” he asked with a small smile, then sighed.  “Still…you didn’t leave to end up stuck here.”

“Maybe not,” she said.  “But stuck with you…that’s not so bad.”

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

The Doctor smiled and brought her hand up, kissing the back of it softly.  Her phone beeped then, shattering the moment.  She answered it without thinking.

“ _He is awake_.”

She pulled the phone away and chucked it across the room.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked, moving quickly to pick up her phone while pulling out his sonic.  "What happened?"

"It…it said ‘he is awake’," she repeated in a shaking voice.

"Wonder who…" he muttered, scanning her phone.  "Strange…it didn’t come from anywhere."

"What, no caller id?" she asked.

"No, it literally didn’t come from anywhere," he said.  "Phone isn’t even registering that there was a call at all."  He looked up, gaze unfocused.

"The Ood said something too," she said.  "When I was getting dinner.  ‘The Beast and his Armies shall rise from the Pit to make war against God’."

"Hmm…that’s…well, ominous," he said arching an eyebrow at her.  "Right, think it’s time we learned a bit more about this place, starting with the Ood.  C’mon," he added, putting her phone in his pocket and pulling her to a standing position before navigating to Ood habitation.

Rose thought quickly.  If this was happening now, the hull breach would happen shortly.  She still didn’t know what had caused it, though she was certain that a possessed Toby was part of it, but if she didn’t get to Scooti in time, she’d die.

"Um, Doctor?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you mind if I sort of took a detour?" she asked hesitantly.

He stopped and looked at her.  “What for?”

"Dunno…maybe see if any of the rest of the team have experienced anything odd?" she suggested.  Not a bad cover.

"We can ask them later," he replied, shaking his head as he turned to walk down the corridor again.

"But Doctor—“

"Rose, whatever is going on here, it’s not good," he cut in quickly, spinning back to her.  "And whatever it is, you’ve had two different…experiences with it already.  I can’t—I don’t want you wandering off alone.  Not here.  Not now.  That clear?"

She saw once again the energy coiled tightly in him.  He’d lost the TARDIS, and a situation that already had him tense had just taken a drastic turn for the worse.  Now was probably not the best time to push him.  Sending out a silent apology to Scooti, she nodded.  He turned on his heel and walked swiftly down the corridor, Rose following resignedly after a moment.

"Evening!" the Doctor called as he hurried down the steps into Ood Habitation.

"The mysterious couple," Danny said, looking up from his computer.  "How are you, then? Settling in?"

"Yeah, sorry, straight to business," the Doctor said, leaning on a railing overlooking the Ood pen.  "The Ood - how do they communicate? I mean, with each other."

 ”Oh, just empaths,” Danny said with a shrug.  “There’s a low level telepathic field connecting them. Not that that does THEM much good. They’re basically a herd race. Like cattle.”

"This telepathic field - can it pick up messages?" the Doctor asked.

"I was having dinner, and one of the Ood said something… well, odd," Rose explained, leaning against the console.

"Oh," said Danny.  "An odd Ood."

"And then I got something else on my…communicator," Rose went on, glancing at the Doctor.

"Oh, be fair," Danny said with a touch of annoyance.  "We’ve got whole star systems burning up around us. There’s all sorts of stray transmissions. Probably nothing."  They both simply stared at him, unconvinced.  Look… if there was something wrong, it would show. We monitor the telepathic field. It’s the only way to look after them. They’re so stupid, they don’t even tell us when they’re ill."

"Monitor the field - that’s this thing?" the Doctor asked, nodding to the computer.  Rose turned to the monitor, and the Doctor moved to stand next to her, putting a hand on her neck as he peered at it.

"Yeah, but like I said, it’s low level telepathy.," Danny continued.  "They only register Basic 5."

As he spoke, the reading rose to Basic 6.

"Well, that’s not Basic 5," the Doctor said.  "Ten…Twenty…" he dropped his hand and turned to Danny.   "They’ve gone up to Basic 30."

"But they can’t…" Danny said, confused.

"Doctor, the Ood," Rose said, gazing past him as the group below turned and looked up at them in unison.  He turned and leaned against the railing again, watching them closely.  "How bad is Basic 30?" she asked.

"Well, it means that they’re shouting—screaming inside their heads," Danny said, baffled.

"Or something’s shouting at them," the Doctor put in quietly.

"But… where’s it coming from?" Danny asked.  "What is it saying? I mean—What did it say to you?" he asked, turning to Rose.

"Something about the beast in the pit," she said, not looking away from the Ood.

"What about your communicator?" he asked.  "What did that say?"

She shivered, remembering the voice.  “He is awake.”

"And you will worship him," said the Ood as one.

Danny stared at them.  “What the hell?”

The Doctor straightened and addressed the group more formally.  “He is awake.”

"And you will worship him," they repeated.

"Worship who?" he asked, without reply.  "Who’s talking to you? Who is it?"

After a moment, the Doctor pushed Rose lightly toward the stairs to the pen, and they both went down to examine the Ood.

"So what is it?" she asked.  "What’s wrong with them?"

"Dunno," he said, examining the communicator sphere.  "Tell you what though…this lot is _odd_ ,” he added, glancing around at the rest of the group before returning his focus to the one in front of him.  “Evolution wasn’t kind…somewhere along the line, nature basically lobotomized them…”

“Sure it was nature?” she asked, looking at the line from the communicator.  “That certainly doesn’t look natural.”

“Hmm…”

He was stopped from any further discovery when the base shook, throwing them around. 

"Emergency hull breach," the computer informed them.  "Emergency hull breach."

"Come on!" the Doctor shouted, running for the stairs and blowing through the balcony.  Danny and Rose followed quickly as Zach made an evacuation announcement.  They wound their way through the twisting corridors, past the canteen and into another hall where they met up with the rest of the team…minus Scooti.

"Everyone all right?" the Doctor asked urgently as the computer informed them that the breach had been sealed.  "What happened? What was it?"

"Hull breach!" Jefferson panted.  "We were open to the elements. A couple of minutes and we’d have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters."

"That wasn’t a quake," the Doctor said as Rose eyed Toby warily.  "What caused it?"

"We’ve lost sections 11 to 13," Zach said over the speaker before anyone could respond. "Everyone all right?"

"We’ve got everyone here except Scooti," Jefferson reported.  "Scooti, report." Static.  "Scooti Manista? That’s an order. Report."  More static.

"She’s all right," came Zach’s voice.  Rose sincerely wished this was the case, but knew better.  "I picked up her bio chip, she’s in Habitation 3.  Better go and check if she’s not responding. She might be unconscious."

"Habitation 3," Jefferson repeated.  "Come on, I don’t often say this, but I think we could all do with a drink. Come on."

The team left to go find Scooti, but Rose loitered with the Doctor, who crouched down closer to Toby.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I don’t—I dunno," Toby said, sounding flustered and shaken.  "I—I was working and then I can’t remember. All—all that noise, the room was falling apart, there was no air—“ he faltered.  Rose sighed and put a hand down to help him up.

"Come on, up you get," she said.  "Come and have some Protein One."

"Oh, you’ve gone native," the Doctor commented lightly.

"Oi, don’t knock it," she said.  "It’s nice. Protein One with just a dash of Three," she added with a click of her tongue.

As the Doctor followed Rose and Toby into the canteen, he was met with chaos.  The team was looking for Scooti, who was still missing, and talking over each other into their coms in an attempt to make sense of the situation.

"Have you seen Scooti?" Jefferson demanded when he saw Toby.

"No, no, no," Toby said.  The Doctor tilted his head at the archeologist.  Something felt…off about this.  "I don’t think so."

"Scooti, please respond, if you can hear this please respond," Ida was saying.

The Doctor glanced around the room, trying to see if she had somehow fallen under or behind something, but stopped when he saw Rose looking up, her face a mask of horror.  He followed her gaze to see Scooti floating eerily above the window.

"I found her," Rose said in a cracked voice.  "I’m sorry," the Doctor heard her add softly as he walked up behind her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against his chest.  He kissed her hair softly when he felt her trembling.

"Captain," Jefferson said quietly into his com.  "Report Officer Scootori Manista PKD… deceased. 43K2.1."

"She was twenty…" Ida said softly.  "Twenty years old."

The Doctor stared gravely up at the girl’s body, tightening his grip on Rose.  They were the same age.  If she had gone wandering…he swallowed.  She hadn’t, and she was here.  She was fine.  But even while he assured himself that Rose was alright, some guilt seeped in.  Maybe if he’d taken her suggestion, they might have been able to stop this.

"I’m sorry," he said softly as the window closed.  "I’m so sorry."

Rose turned, burying her face in his chest, and he brought his other hand up to stroke her hair soothingly.

“‘For how should Man die better than facing fearful odds?’” quoted Jefferson.  “‘For the ashes of his father… and the temples of his Gods’.”

The group stood in somber silence for a moment, then were startled as a noise they had been hearing in the background suddenly ceased.

"It’s stopped…" Ida said.

"The drill," Rose said, lifting her head.

"We’ve stopped drilling," Ida said.  "We’ve made it. Point Zero."

The rest of the team hurried out to make plans to descend into the drill tunnel, and the Doctor grabbed Rose’s arm as she pulled away.

“You couldn’t have stopped it,” he said in a low voice.

“You don’t know that,” she said, not looking at him.

“If you’d gone, if you’d been with her, you could have ended up out there too,” he said.

“Or we could have both been in here,” Rose said, her voice breaking.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  “I know, Doctor.  I get it.  We can’t be everywhere.  We can’t save everyone.  That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“I know the feeling,” he said softly, catching her eye as he thought again about how much she sounded like him anymore.

oOoOo

"Capsule established," Ida was saying as she worked, already in a space suit.  "All systems functioning… the mineshaft is go… bring systems online now."

Rose watched as the Doctor, also garbed in that terrible orange space suit, approached Zach.

"Reporting as a volunteer for the expeditionary force," the Doctor said formally.

"Doctor, this is breaking every single protocol," the captain said.  "We don’t even know who you are."

"Yeah, but you trust me, don’t you?" he said with a small smile.  "And you can’t let Ida go down there on her own. Go on… look me in the eye… yes you do, I can see it. Trust."

"I should be going down," Zach said reluctantly.

"The Captain doesn’t lead the mission," the Doctor said firmly.  "He stays here. In charge."

"Not much good at it, am I?" Zach asked bitterly, then sighed, turning away.  "Positions! We’re going down in two. Everyone, positions!"

Rose caught the Doctor’s eye and walked over to him slowly.  She almost lost him last time.  What if anything was just a minute off?  Just a second?  What if he jumped and couldn’t get back up?

"Oxygen… nitro-balance… gravity," he said, checking his wrist device.  "It’s ages since I wore one of these!"

“Do you have to go?” she asked before she could stop herself.

“Someone needs to go with Ida,” he told her, his eyes softening.  “And one of us needs to stay up here with this lot, in case anything else goes wrong.  Just…if anything happens…don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Short list,” she said with a tight smile.

“Cheeky,” he said, his eyes crinkling as he smiled down at her.

"I want that spacesuit back in one piece," she said softly after a pause, her voice breaking.

"Yessir," he murmured, giving her an intense look before wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her close and kissing her deeply.  "I’m coming back," he promised in a low voice as he rested his forehead on hers.  "I’ll always come back for you."

"I’m holding you to that," she said, forcing some cheer into her voice as she pulled away so that he could put on the helmet.

"I’ll see you later," he said confidently once it was in place.

"Not if I see you first," she said with a small smile before pulling his head down to kiss the helmet.

He got into the capsule with Ida as the countdown started, and they exchanged a small wave before the capsule started its descent.  She watched until he was out of sight, then scurried over to the com.  It wasn’t long before she heard Zach report that they were beyond the oxygen field.

"Don’t forget to breathe," she reminded the Doctor, remembering the qualification to his old promise.  "Breathing is good."

"Rose, stay off the coms," Zach said with a touch of irritation.

"Fat chance," she said, and she thought she heard a low chuckle from the Doctor before the capsule rattled loudly.  Rose worried her lip for several more minutes, almost drawing blood when the whole base suddenly shook, throwing her back.  She pulled herself up to the com again almost immediately.  "Doctor?" She paused.  "Doctor, are you alright?"

"Ida, report to me," Zach said over the com when silence continued.  "Doctor?"

"It’s all right, we’ve made it," came the Doctor’s voice finally, and Rose’s breath left her in a rush.  She _really_ hated this lump of rock.  “Coming out of the capsule now.”

"What’s it like down there?" Rose asked him.

"It’s hard to tell," he said slowly.  "Some sort of… cave… cavern… it’s massive."

"Well, this should help," Ida’s voice came through.  "Gravity globe."  There was a pause, and then she continued in a hushed, awed voice.   "That’s…that’s…my God, that’s beautiful."

_And terrible_ , Rose thought sadly.

"Rose…" said the Doctor.  "You can tell Toby…we’ve found his civilization…"

"Oi, Toby," she said, forcing cheer into her voice.  "Sounds like you’ve got plenty of work."

"Good, good," Toby said, crouched in on himself and looking twitchy.  "Good."  Rose watched him warily as Zach asked the Doctor and Ida about the power source.

"Well… we’ve come this far," Ida was saying as Rose forced herself to focus.  "There’s no turning back."

Rose groaned just as the Doctor said, “Oh, did you have to?  No turning back?

"Honestly, Ida," Rose said.  "That’s almost as bad as ‘nothing can possibly go wrong’."

"Or ‘this is going to be the best Christmas Walford’s ever had’," added the Doctor.

"Are you two finished?" Ida asked impatiently.

"Yeah, finished," the Doctor said after a pause, and Rose couldn’t help but snicker.

"Captain, sir," said Danny’s voice.   "There’s something happening with the Ood."

"What are they doing?" Zach asked.

"They’re staring at me," Danny said quietly.  "I’ve told them to stop, but they won’t."

"Danny, you’re a big boy," Zach said.  "I think you can take being STARED at."

"But the telepathic field, sir. It’s at Basic 100! I’ve checked - there isn’t any fault. It’s definitely 100."

"But that’s impossible," Zach said incredulously.

"Basic 100…that’s, what, brain death?" Rose said, trying to sound curious rather than scared near panic.

Jefferson nodded at her at the same time Danny said, “They should be dead.”

"But they’re safe?" Zach asked after a moment.  "They’re not actually moving?"

"No, sir," Danny said.

"Keep watching them," Zach said finally.  "And you, Jefferson, keep a guard on the Ood."

Jefferson confirmed this, and he and his crew readied their firearms, poised to shoot the moment an Ood stepped out of place.

"Is everything all right up there?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah," Rose said quickly.  "Yeah."

"It’s FINE," Zach said.

"Great!" spat Danny, dripping with sarcasm.

They hung around for another tense several minutes, Jefferson and his crew keeping a wary on the Ood while Rose took sidelong glances at Toby.

"We’ve found something," the Doctor said after a while.  "It looks like metal. Like some sort of seal. I’ve got a nasty feeling the word might be ‘trapdoor’. Not a good word, ‘trapdoor’. Never met a trapdoor I liked."

"The edge is covered with those symbols," Ida added.

"Do you think it opens?" Zach said.

"That’s what trapdoors tend to do," the Doctor said in a slightly patronizing tone.  Rose mouthed the word "rude," but kept it to that.

“‘Trapdoor’ doesn’t do it justice,” Ida said, sounding awestruck again.  “It’s massive, Zach. About thirty feet in diameter.”

"Any way of opening it?" Zach asked.

"I don’t know," she replied.  "I can’t see any sort of mechanism."

"I suppose that’s the writing," the Doctor said.  "That’ll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation."

"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?" Zach asked.

"Toby?" Rose asked.  "Did…did you translate that lettering?"

"I know what it says," he said quietly.  Rose froze.  The twitchy stammer was gone.  That was bad.  That was very, very bad.

"When did you work that out?" Jefferson asked, looking at Rose oddly when she took a step back.

"These are the words of the Beast," said the frightening, possessed Toby.  "And he has woken.  He is the heart that beats in the darkness, he is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise."

"Officer, stand down," Jefferson ordered.  "STAND DOWN."

Toby flexed his arms as Rose heard static over the com.  She was fairly certain that the Doctor was panicking down there already, but she also knew that if she wasn’t hearing what anyone was saying, no one was going to hear her.  They were alone.

"Officer, as commander of security, I order you to stand down and be confined," Jefferson yelled.  "Immediately!"

"Mr Jefferson," Toby said, considering him.  "Tell me, sir… did your wife ever forgive you?"

"I don’t know what you mean," Jefferson lied with a stammer.

"Let me tell you a secret," Toby continued mercilessly.  "She never did."

"Officer, you stand down and be confined," Jefferson repeated.

"Or what?"

"Or under the jurisdiction of Condition Red, I am authorized to shoot you," Jefferson said, pointing the gun at Toby.

"But how many can you kill?" he asked.  His eyes lit up and he threw his head back with a roar as the symbols lifted from his skin in swirls of black smoke.  The smoke entered each of the Ood, making them twitch as they were possessed.  Toby, seeming himself again, coughed and collapsed.  Jefferson moved his aim to the Ood instead.

"We are the Legion of the Beast," the Ood said as one.  "The Legion shall be many. And the Legion shall be few…

"Sir, we have a contamination in the livestock," Jefferson said into his wrist communicator.

"No one can hear you," Rose snapped, backing away further.

"He has woven himself in the fabric of your life since the dawn of time," the Ood continued.  "Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Krop Tor. Some may call him Satan, or Lucifer, or the Bringer of Despair. The Deathless Prince. The Bringer of Night.  These are the words that shall set him free."

"Back up to the door!" Jefferson called.

Rose was already there.  She’d tried to get it open, but with a grim certainty that it didn’t work.

_Why?_ she thought angrily as the Ood continued the Beast’s diatribe.  _Why do we have to do EVERY ONE?  Why do we have to come to every god forsaken rock in the bloody universe that seems bent on killing everyone that comes in contact with it?  So much can change, WHY CAN’T THIS?_

Angry tears built up in her eyes and spilled over her cheeks as Jefferson and his crew backed up to the door.  She fell against it when the base started shaking violently.  More static came over the com, and she yelled in pure frustration.  She didn’t want to be here.  She didn’t want the Doctor to be there.  And she certainly didn’t want to hear what the Beast might say this time.

_The Valient Child, who will die in battle so very soon._

No.  That couldn’t happen.  

The base suddenly stopped shaking, and a voice reverberated around them.

"The Pit is open. And I am free."


	57. The Satan Pit (part 1)

_"The Pit is open.  And I am free."_

The Doctor stared at the deep chasm, the words still reverberating in his head.  What the hell had just happened?  And what had happened up top?  Communications had cut off after Toby had said that he knew what the lettering meant.  He had kept trying to yell, but got nothing back but static.  If that…child…had hurt one hair on her head…

And then he heard the coms come back online and nearly sagged to his knees in relief, until it registered what they were saying.  They were clamoring to seal doors, then there was talk of limited ammunition.  Something to do with the Ood.  He still hadn’t heard her.  Something very not good was happening at the base, and he still hadn’t heard her.  He barely registered that the captain was talking about them being unresponsive, holding his breath for a single word to prove that she was still alright.

"I can’t get any reply, just…NOTHING," he heard her say finally, and his breath left him in a whoosh.  She was alright.  Incredibly, undeniably upset, but alright.  "I keep trying, but it’s—“

"No! Sorry, I’m fine," he cut in when his breath came back.  "Still here!"

"You could’ve said, you stupid b—“ the comms screeched loudly, making him wince.  He was fairly certain he didn’t want to hear what she’d called him anyway, but the relief in her voice was unmistakable and mirrored his.

"WHOA! Careful!" he said lightly.  "Anyway, it’s both of us, me and Ida. Hello! But…the seal opened up. It’s gone. All we’ve got left is this chasm."

"How deep is it?" Zach asked.

"Can’t tell," he replied, peering down into the darkness.  "It looks like it goes on forever."

“‘The pit is open’,” said Rose.  “That’s what the voice said.”

"But there’s nothing?" Zach asked.  "I mean…There’s… NOTHING coming out?"

"No, no," the Doctor said quickly.  "No sign of ‘the Beast’."

"It said ‘Satan’," Rose said, her voice shaking slightly.

"Come on, Rose," he said quietly, trying to bolster her.  He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he lost her to fear too.  "Keep it together."

"Is there no such thing?" she asked, but it almost sounded like an accusation.  Like he should know better.  Like he SHOULD’VE known better, and taken them away as soon as they landed.  Or maybe he was reading too much into it.  Truth was…he had met so many creatures that were the embodiment of myths across the universe.  They were never quite like the stories, but they did exist.  Demons and gods, side by side, all across time and space.  And he’d trapped her _here_ , with god knew what.

"Doctor?" Rose called over the comms again.  He shook himself and turned his back on the chasm.  He opened his mouth, but had no idea what to tell her.  He wasn’t going to start lying to her now.

"Ida?" Zach’s voice said before he’d come up with something to say.  "I recommend that you withdraw. Immediately."

"But…we’ve come all this way!" Ida cried.

"Okay, that was an order," the captain said.  "WITH-DRAW. With that thing open, the whole planet’s shifted. One more inch and we fall into the black hole. So this thing stops right now."

"But it’s not much better up there with the Ood," Ida said mutinously.

"I’m initiating Strategy Nine, so I need the two of you back up top immediately, no ar—“

Ida reached down and turned off her wrist device.  The Doctor raised his eyebrows at her.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"He gave an order," the Doctor said slowly, pacing back toward the pit.

"Yeah, but… what do YOU think?" she asked insistently.

"It said ‘I am the temptation’," he said softly, putting a foot up on the rim and leaning on his knee as he stared into the pit.

"If…if there’s something in there… why’s it still hiding?" she asked.

"Maybe…we opened the prison but not the cell," he mused.

"We should go down," Ida said.  "I’d go. What about you?"

"Oh! Oh, in a second, but then again…" He stared down for a moment.  The unknown was down there.  Everything he travelled for—the adrenaline, the chase of some new kernel of knowledge, the fix for his need to remedy something, save _something_ —was down a deep, dark pit.  But Rose was up there.  The one thing in the universe that could stay his constant itch to run.

But…there was something down there.  And Ida was sorely tempting him.  It would be so easy…and he could still get back to Rose, right?  They could go down into the unknown, find what was to be found, then make their way back up…He gave a sort of half laugh and turned to Ida.

"That is so human," he said.  "Where angels fear to tread. Even now, standing on the edge. It’s that feeling you get. Yeah?" He looked down into the pit again.  "Right at the back of your head. That impulse… that strange little impulse… that mad little voice saying ‘go on… go on… go on… go over, go on…’ Maybe it’s relying on that."  And if it was, he couldn’t give in.  He couldn’t risk it.  He’d jumped without looking back once on her already, and had hurt her deeply by doing so.  He’d promised he wouldn’t again.  Every promise to her revolved around him being there for her, coming back to her, always, and even if she couldn’t make the same promises to him, he’d be damned if he would break his.  He took his foot off the edge of the pit and straightened, already turning toward the capsule.  "Officer Scott, I’m sorry," he said without any further hesitation, "but for once in my life, I have to say retreat."

oOoOo

"Rose, we’re coming back," the Doctor said, and Rose smiled.

"Best news I’ve heard all day," she said happily.  If there was some way that they could get back up before the Beast made another appearance…but then, that’s exactly why it had, wasn’t it?  She was fighting an invisible battle with an entity that already had every advantage over her.  Having foreknowledge of this adventure did her no good, because there were so many little things that, if changed, could lead to big and, ultimately, fatal changes.

She turned when she heard Jefferson release the safety catch on his gun.  He was looking down at Toby with a cold, impassive face.

"What’re you doing?" she asked.

"He’s infected," Jefferson said, gaze trained on the cowering archeologist.  "He brought that thing on board. You saw it."

She could let him execute him.  The Ood trick was just a ruse, she knew that now.  Toby could turn at any moment.  But what would happen then?

The Doctor and Ida coming up had been the reason the Beast had cut the power.  The Doctor getting through their terror and towing them back toward reason had been why the cable snapped.  The cable snapping had given him a reason to risk everything and go into the Pit.  He had never told her exactly what happened down there, but he had stopped the Beast, and that was where he eventually found the TARDIS, deep in the planet’s heart.

If Toby was executed now, they could save themselves from countless terror.  He was already coming back, and then they were going to fly away…and do what?  She’d never have to face Canary Wharf…but she’d never get anything else, either.  None of the wonders they had left to explore…and the only thing left from the Doctor’s home, the place that had become home to both of them, the machine that had proven that it could think and feel just as much as them would be gone, abandoned in the deep recesses of a forgotten rock.

"You can’t," she said finally.  Jefferson turned to stare at her.  "You can’t just start executing your own people," she continued wearily.  "It’s the Ood that are the problem right now, not him.  Whatever it was…it’s gone from him now.  You saw it."

Jefferson turned back to Toby, considering him for a moment.  “Any sign of trouble, I’ll shoot him,” he said finally, moving away.

Rose stepped toward Toby and crouched in front of him.  “You alright?” she asked.

"Yeah," he said shakily.  "I…dunno."

"Can you remember anything?" she asked.

"Just…it was so angry," he said.  "It was…fury and rage…death…It was him," he said, meeting her eyes.  "It was the devil."

She stared back at him for a moment.  “It’s gone now, though?” He nodded.  “Right.  Well, you should know…if I see any sign that you’re lying—any at all—I’ll kill you myself.  That’s not a threat, Toby…that’s a promise.”

She stood up and moved away, ignoring the look of horror on the man’s face.  She stepped back toward the comms, waiting impatiently with Danny and Jefferson for the two in the cave to make contact.

"Okay, we’re in," Ida said finally.  "Bring us up."

Jefferson hovered over the controls.  “Ascension in three…two…one.”

The power died.

"This is the Darkness," came the voice of the beast.  "This is my domain."

The display screen revealed the Ood, channeling the Beast and imparting its message.  Rose slammed a fist into the side of the computer, making Jefferson and Danny jump.  Pain bloomed through her hand, but she was beyond caring.

"You little things that live in the light," the Voice continued.  "Clinging to your feeble Suns which die in the end."

"That’s not the Ood," Zach said softly into the com.  "Something’s talking through them."

"Only the Darkness remains."

"This is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sanctury Base Six representing the Torchwood archive," Zach said.  "You will identify yourself."

Rose lost sense of the conversation.  Of course Torchwood would be mentioned here.  Of _course_ it would.  She hit the computer again, ignoring the pain as well as the fact that she had now drawn blood.

"You will die here," the voice said.  "All of you. This planet is your grave."

"I don’t think so," Rose said softly, staring at the screen in total hatred.

"If you are the Beast," came the calm voice of the Doctor, cooling a portion of her rage.  "Then answer me this: which one? Hmm? ‘Cos the universe has been busy since you’ve been gone. There’s more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Archivits… Quoldonity, Christianity… Pash-Pash, New Judaism… San Claar… Church of the Tin Vagabond - which devil are you?"

"All of them," it replied.

"What, then you’re the truth behind the myth?" he asked, a shade derisively.

"This one knows me," it said.  "As I know him. The killer of his own kind."

"How did you end up on this rock?" he asked, ignoring this.

"The disciples of the Light rose up against me," it said, “and chained me in the pit for all eternity."

"When was this?" the Doctor asked.

"Before time," it said.

"What does THAT mean?" the Doctor asked, exasperated.

"Before time," it repeated.

"What does ‘before time’ MEAN?" the Doctor asked insistently.

_Never come between a Time Lord and Time_ , Rose thought with a smirk.

"Before light and time and space and matter," the Beast said.  "Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created."

"That’s impossible," the Doctor scoffed.  "No life could have existed back then."

"Is that your religion?" the Beast asked.

"It’s a belief."

"You know nothing," it said.  "All of you. So small.  The Captain, so scared of command.  The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife. The scientist, still running from daddy.  The little boy who lied…The virgin…And the lost girl, so far away from home. The valiant child waging war against Time itself, keeping dangerous secrets from the one she loves, who will die in battle so very soon."

_NO._   It knew nothing of her.  It had said before that she would die in battle soon…she hadn’t died, it had been merely a job of paperwork and another universe.  It wasn’t any more of a real prophecy this time.  And the secrets she was keeping were only dangerous if they were told before the right time.  It was trying to get in both their heads, but she wasn’t some scared kid anymore.  She ate scarier thing than the Beast for breakfast.

"That’s not the truth," she spat.  "None of it.  Just a twisted portion, bastardized by the lack of acknowledgement of the reasons or needs around them.  Just enough to get in our heads, to make us uncertain of ourselves.  That’s how you fight.  Alone in the shadows, you prey on guilt, and fear, and pain.  That’s not the way of a Beast, that’s the way of a coward.  You’re just as much of a lie as the things you say.”

The Doctor stared at the walls of the capsule, his mouth hanging open.  He’d paused at what the Beast had said about her, but the real shock had come from Rose herself.  Everyone else was terrified…but not her.  Oh no.  She was angry.  She was _furious._   His tiny pink and yellow human who never hesitated to give _anyone_ a piece of her mind.  And everything she was saying made complete sense.  He didn’t think he could have put it better himself.

_That’s my girl_ , he thought with a grin as Ida looked at him oddly.

"This is the truth," it said.  "You will die, and I will live."

Up on the base, the video of the Ood cut to an image of a roaring horned beast.  Everyone but Rose gasped and jumped back.

"What the hell was that?" Danny asked in a trembling voice.

"I had that thing inside my head," moaned Toby.

After that, everyone started talking over each other.  Rose tried to get them to calm down, but to no avail.  It wasn’t until the Doctor made the comms screech with a loud feedback tone that everyone stopped.

"If you want voices in the dark, then listen to mine," the Doctor said quickly.  "What Rose said is absolutely true.  That thing is playing on very basic fears.  Darkness and childhood nightmares."

"But that’s how the devil works," Danny said.

"Or a good psychologist," the Doctor countered.

"But…how did it know about my father?" Ida asked.

"Okay, but what makes his version of the truth any better than ours? Hmm?" he asked after a pause.  “‘Cause I’ll tell you what I can see: humans. Brilliant humans. Humans who travel all the way across space. Flying in a tiny little rocket into the orbit of a black hole! Just for the sake of discovery, that’s amazing! Do you hear me? Amazing. All of you. The captain - his officer - his elder - his genius - his friends. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him—"

There was a loud bang, and Rose screamed, “Doctor, look out!” half a second before Ida even said anything.  She heard him calling to Ida to get out before anyone else had even fully registered what happened yet.

"Doctor, are you all right?" she called, not really believing he’d answer, but needing to try.

"Comms are down," Zach said in a flat voice.

"Doctor, can you hear me?" she tried again, railing against reality.

"I’ve still got life signs," Zach said after a moment.  "but… we’ve lost the capsule.  There’s no way out.  They’re stuck down there."


	58. The Satan Pit (part 2)

While Rose convinced the team to use the assets at their disposal to at least try to turn the tide in their favor, the Doctor paced through the cavern, his mind on fire.  The cable was gone, the capsule was toast.  There had to be a way, some way that no one else had discovered yet, some way only he could because he was clever, and he _would_ figure it out, because after everything he’d done, everything he’d been through, everything he’d seen and everything he’d lost, he was _not_ going to die of oxygen deprivation on some miserable rock of a planet that shouldn’t even exist, and certainly not when everything left that mattered to him was ten miles above him and still needed him.

"How much air have we got?" he asked suddenly.  Ida had been watching him warily since they’d made it out of the capsule, but now started to attention.

"Sixty minutes," she said quickly, then looked down at her wrist device.  "Fifty-five."

He made a growling noise of frustration, and started pacing again.  After another minute, he noticed Ida at the broken capsule, pulling the cable out of shaft.

"What’re you doing?" he asked, stopping to watch her.

"We’ve got all this cable, we might as well use it," she said.  "The drum’s disconnected - we could adapt it. Feed it through."

"And then what?"

"Abseil," she said.  "Into the pit."

"Abseil," he said slowly, thinking hard.  "Right."

"We’re running out of air with no way back," she said reasonably, stopping to look at him.  "It’s the only thing we CAN do. Even if it’s the last thing we ever achieve."

"I’ll get back," he said fiercely.  "Rose is up there."

"Well, maybe the key to that is finding out what’s in the pit," she said, turning away to pull more cable out.

If there really was a…beast down there, if it was the cause of all this…he certainly wanted a word with it.  And, try as he might, he couldn’t think of any way, right now, of getting back up to Rose.  If he couldn’t…he swallowed hard.  If he couldn’t get back to her, then he could at least give hell to whatever had caused this.  And if there was nothing…well…then he wasn’t much worse off than he already was right now.

"Well… it’s half of a good plan," he said slowly.

"What’s the other half?" she asked.

"I go down," he said.  "Not you.  If they do get back in touch, if they find a way…one of us should still be up here."

Even as he said it, even as he moved to help Ida, he sent up a silent apology to Rose.  If this…foolhardy plan turned out to be the one thing that broke his promise…no.  He’d find a way.  He’d give the Beast hell, and he’d find a way back to her.

They worked silently for several minutes, converting the drum and feeding the cable into it.  Once done, they clipped the Doctor to it via several carabineers they found on their persons.

"That should hold it," Ida said once this task was complete. "How’s it going?"

The Doctor walked several feet to the edge of the pit, the cable unraveling behind him.  He tugged at the carabineers forcefully, and found no give.

"Fine!" he said.  "Should work… doesn’t feel like such a good idea, now."  He looked down into the pit.  If it didn’t work…if he fell…if she got in touch right after…if they found a way he hadn’t thought of…He took a deep breath, stepping onto the rim of the pit.  "Ha… there it is again," he said, bobbing up and down.  "That itch. Go down, go down, go down, go down, go down."

"The urge to jump," Ida said, smiling a little and nodding.  "Do you know where it comes from, that sensation? Genetic heritage. Ever since we were primates in the trees. It’s our body’s way of testing us. Calculating whether or not we can reach the next branch."

"No, that’s not it," he said thoughtfully.  "That’s too kind. It’s not the urge to jump, it’s deeper than that. It’s the urge to fall!"

"Doctor!" he heard Ida cry as he fell backwards into the pit.  It was only a few seconds before she stopped his descent, but it was glorious.  The wind whipping past his body, the fraction of time that nothing else mattered, not the TARDIS, or Rose, or the Beast, or this bloody stupid planet…no memories or guilt…just him and physics.  Then the cable pulled tight, and he was suspended above blackness.  "Are you okay?" Ida called over the edge.

"Not bad, thanks," he said.  "The wall of the pit… seems to be the same as the cavern, just….not much of it," he added, shining the torch downwards.  "There’s a crust about twenty feet down and then… nothing. Just the pit. Okay, then. Lower me down."

"Well, here we go, then," she called back.

oOoOo

Up on the base, the tiny group made their way the maintenance shafts, the Ood hot on their tails.  Jefferson tried to get them to go on while he held the Ood back, but Rose had had enough.  She’d lost Scooti, she couldn’t talk to the Doctor, they were all in danger…she wasn’t letting someone else die.

“Jefferson, you _will_ follow us, right now,” she said, her voice fierce.

“I can hold them back—“

“And die alone,” she said harshly.  “I’m not letting that happen to anyone else here, not today.  Now do as I say, soldier, and _GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR._ ”

Danny and Toby watched her in stunned silence while Jefferson started moving automatically, his body trained to respond to a direct order.  He made it just before the door came down.

oOoOo

"You get representations of the Horned Beast right across the universe," the Doctor lectured in a conversational tone as he descended.  "In the myths and legends of a million worlds. Earth… Draconia, Velconsadine… Daemos… the Kaled God of War… it’s the same image, over and over again. Maybe… that idea came from somewhere. Bleeding through… the thought at the back of every sentient mind."

"Emanating from here?" Ida asked.

"Could be," he admitted.

"But if this is the original…does that make it real?" she asked.  "Does that make it the actual devil, though?"

"Well, if that’s what you want to believe," he said slowly.  "Maybe that’s what the devil is, in the end. An idea."

He thought again about what Rose had said.  It wasn’t the truth, because it wasn’t the whole truth.  She’s called the Beast, the living legend, a coward in the shadows.

Blimey, she was brilliant.

Suddenly, he jerked to a halt.

"That’s it," Ida said.  "That’s all we’ve got. You getting any sort of readout?" 

He pressed a few buttons on his wrist device, but couldn’t ascertain anything useful.  “Nothing. Could be miles to go, yet. Or… could be thirty feet. No way of telling.  I could survive thirty feet.” He paused, considering this.  If they got back in touch now, then he could be raised back up.  If they never got back in touch…then it wouldn’t matter where he was.  The oxygen would still run out, and he would still be just as dead down there as he would be up with Ida. 

"Oh no you don’t," Ida said.  "I’m pulling you back up."

The Doctor felt himself lifting again, and quickly slapped at a button on his chest, halting his ascent.

"What’re you doing?" she yelled.

"You bring me back, then we’re just gonna sit there and run out of air," he said.  "I’ve gotta go down."

"But you can’t," she said, scared.  "Doctor, you can’t."

"Call it an act of faith," he told her, releasing one of the hooks.

"But… I don’t want to die on my own," she said.

"I know," he said softly after a pause, releasing another hook.  He didn’t either.  "I didn’t ask - have you got any sort of faith, or…?"

"Not really," she said as he released yet another hook.  "I was brought up Neo Classic, congregational… because of my mum, she was…My old mum. But no, I never believed."

"Neo Classic - have they got a devil?" he asked.

"No, not as such," she said.  "Just um… the things that men do."

"Same thing in the end," the Doctor said sadly.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I believe…" he paused.  What did he believe?  "I believe I haven’t seen everything, I don’t know…it’s funny, isn’t it? The things you make up—the rules. If that thing had said it came from BEYOND the universe, I’d believe it, but BEFORE the universe… impossible. Doesn’t fit my rule. Still, that’s why I keep travelling. To be proved wrong. Thank you, Ida."

"Don’t go!" she cried quickly.

"If they get back in touch…if you talk to Rose…just tell her…" he paused, looking down.  His best friend, his confidant, his…oh…so much.  She had to know.  Right?   "Tell her I…" he paused again.  She shouldn’t hear it like that.  But…if it was his last chance to say it… "Tell her I love her, Ida."

With that, he released the final hook and fell into the blackness beyond.

oOoOo

Miles above them, Zach finally got the comms working again.

"Doctor? Are you there?" Rose asked urgently.  "Doctor, Ida? Can you hear me?  Are you there Doctor?"

"He’s gone," Ida finally replied.

"What do you mean, ‘he’s gone’?" Rose choked out, trying to drive out the images of shrapnel causing unspeakable violence to his person before he even managed to get to the pit.

"He fell," Ida said.  "Into the pit. And I don’t know how deep it is - miles and miles and miles."

"He fell," Rose replied, her eyes burning.  He could still get out.  If he was still breathing, he’d come back to her.  He promised.

"I couldn’t stop him," Ida said quietly. "Rose, he…he said he loved you."

Well, that was…remarkably unfair.  Rose stared straight ahead as Zach tugged the comm gently out of her hand with a mumbled condolence.  He’d finally said it.  The words that she’d been waiting for…for more years than she could tell him.  And she had to hear it from Ida’s lips.  She was tempted to bash her already battered hand against the computer again in sheer frustration, but she couldn’t move.

He had to come back.  He had before.  He’d do it again.  And he’d tell her in person.  He had to.

"Ida? There’s no way of reaching you," Zach was saying apologetically.  "No cable, no back-up… you’re ten miles down…We can’t get there."

"You should see this place, Zach," Ida said, without any real acknowledgement of what he’d just said.  "It’s beautiful. Well, I wanted to discover things…And here I am."  She sounded a little choked at the end.

"We’ve got to abandon the base," Zach said quietly, with heavy remorse. "I’m declaring this mission unsafe. All we can do is make sure no one ever comes here again."

"But we’ll never find out what it was," Ida said.

"Well, maybe that’s best," Zach said after a moment.

"Yeah."

He paused again.  “Officer Scott—“

"It’s all right," Ida cut in quickly.  "Just go. Good luck."

"Thank you," Zach said, and put down the comm.  "Danny - Toby - close down the feed links. Get the retrotopes online. Then get to the rocket - strap yourselves in. We’re leaving."

Rose still stood frozen in her own pain and uncertainty.  They were so close to the end, so close to leaving…but if anything went wrong now…she’d never see him again.

_No, stop it!_ she scolded herself.  _You’ve complained about too much staying the same, and now you’re worried too much will change.  Pick one, and trust him._

Rose took a deep breath and drew herself up.  “Room for me on that rocket?” she asked Zach.

"Of course," he said quickly.  "I’m not leaving anyone else behind.  I am sorry about the Doctor, Rose.  He…he was a good man."

She nodded mutely, and followed the others, skirting around the incapacitated and twitching Ood that littered the corridors.

oOoOo

The Doctor woke slowly with a groan, then a gasp when he realized that his helmet was broken.  It was another microsecond before he registered that he was, in fact, breathing.

"I’m breathing," he said out loud in wonder before removing his helmet to look around him.  "Air cushion to support the fall…You can breathe down here, Ida," he said into the comm, but all he got back was crackling static.  "Can you hear me, Ida?"

Maybe not.  He wandered toward a wall, then heard the sound of the rocket taking off.  He looked up, torn.  There wasn’t a doubt in his head that Rose was the reason that there was anyone on base still safe enough to escape.  Nor did he doubt that she could make her own way.  She’d never get home, but she was smart, resourceful, and brave…she’d find something.  But she wouldn’t have him…and he’d die here without ever seeing her face again.

Had she been able to get in contact before she left?  Had Ida told her?  Or would she live out the rest of her days on some strange planet, a million miles from home, never knowing how much she really meant to him…the idea of that gutted him as the hopelessness of the situation weighed down on him.  He gave in to it for a moment, sinking down to one knee, a fist on the ground and his head bowed.  It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  He was a Time Lord.  The _last_ of the Time Lords.  He wasn’t supposed to die of something like suffocation or starvation in some back corner of the universe.  But…she was safe.  She’d fought, all on her own, and she was safe.

He rolled his shoulders, getting slowly to his feet.  If he had to die here, he wasn’t going down alone—that thing that took her away from him was coming down with him.  He buried his heartache and steeled himself as he lifted the torch and walked toward the wall, intent on finding any sign, any clue, as to the location of this Beast.  Because it might be terrifying, it might be the monster behind the myth, it might be the Prince of Darkness…but it hadn’t met the Oncoming Storm yet.

oOoOo

In the rocket, Rose thought hard.  They wouldn’t understand if she just shot out Toby now, not when he was giggling with happiness and relief.  There had to be some way to force him to show himself, get him out of here…

"It doesn’t make sense," she said thoughtfully.  "We escaped, but there’s a thousand ways it could’ve killed us. It could’ve… ripped out the air or… I dunno, burnt us, or anything. But it let us go. Why? Unless it wanted us to escape…"

"Hey, Rose, do us a favor," Toby said nastily, turning to her.  "Shut up."

oOoOo

In the pit, the Doctor was frozen in horrified realization as the Beast in front of him roared in laughter.  This…thing, this being in front of him had played him, manipulated him into setting it free, using his own feelings for Rose against him.  If he destroyed the prison, it would fall into the black hole…but so would Rose.  Not only would he not be able to see her again, he would be sending her to her death.

But…this was Rose.  So much more than human, more even than him, because she was what gave him strength.  The girl who had been furious rather than frightened, the one who had shouted while everyone else whimpered.  The one who was stronger than anyone he’d ever met, and certainly stronger than this.  The one person he could look at with the respect of an equal.

"Except that implies," he said slowly, raising his head again, "in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils—that she’s just a victim. But I’ve seen a lot of this universe. I’ve seen fake gods and bad gods and demi gods and would-be gods, and out of all that—out of that whole pantheon—if I believe in one thing…just one thing…I believe in HER."

With that, he picked up the rock again and smashed the vase.

oOoOo

"What happened?” Danny asked as the rocket shook violently.  "What was that?"

"What’s he doing?" Toby asked, sounding panicked.  "What is he doing?"

"We’ve lost the funnel!" Zach shouted.  "Gravity collapse!  We can’t escape. We’re headed straight for the black hole!"

Rose was silent, eyes shining.  That was the Doctor.  He was still alive, and still fighting.  She turned slowly to Toby.

"Does it hurt?" she hissed.

His head whipped around, and he glared at her, eyes bright red and seething.  “I am the rage and the bile and the ferocity. I am the Prince and the Fall and the Darkness—“

"It’s him! It’s him! It’s him!" Danny screamed.

"Stay where you are," Zach ordered.  "The ship’s not stable!" He turned to look just as Toby expelled a burst of flame from his mouth. 

"What is he?” Jefferson yelled.  “What the HELL is he?"

Rose grabbed the dart gun.  She wasn’t listening to this again.  “Go to hell,” she said darkly, and shot out the front window, quickly reaching over to click open Toby’s restraint.  He roared in fear and anger as he was sucked out toward the black hole.

Zach quickly activated the emergency shield.  “We’ve still lost the gravity funnel. We can’t escape the black hole!”

"But we stopped him," Rose said confidently. "That’s what the Doctor wanted."

"Some victory," Zach said.  "We’re going in."

"The planet’s lost orbit!" Danny cried.  "It’s falling!"

Rose closed her eyes and repeated to herself that it didn’t matter.  The Doctor had done this much, he could do the rest.  He’d find the TARDIS, he’d save them all.  He’d done it before, he’d do it again.  And he promised.

"The planet’s gone," Danny said after a moment.  "I’m sorry."

"Accelerate," Zach ordered the computer quietly.  "I did my best. But hey—first Human Beings to fall inside a black hole. How about that? History."

“‘S not over yet,” Rose said quietly, and Danny stared at her.  It couldn’t be.  All the same, she ripped the seat firmly and closed her eyes tight…then nearly burst into tears when the shaking stopped and the lights came on again.  She laughed out loud.

"What’s going on?" Jefferson asked as they all slid to the side.

"We’re… turning," Zach said, confused. "We’re turning around. We’re turning away!"

"Sorry about the hijack, Captain," came the Doctor’s voice on the comm, and now Rose did feel a few happy tears spill down her cheeks.  "This is the good ship TARDIS. Now, first thing’s first - have you got a Rose Tyler on board?"

"I’m here," she said loudly.  "You found the TARDIS!"

"Indubitably," he said, and Rose could hear his smile.  "And now I’m towing you home. Gravity-schmavity. My people practically invented black holes.  Well, in fact, they did.  In a couple of minutes, we’ll be nice and safe. Oh, and captain - can we do a swap? Say, if you give me Rose Tyler - I’ll give you Ida Scott? How about that?"

"She’s alive!" Zach cried in disbelief.

"Yeah! Bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be all right.  I couldn’t save the Ood," he added, more solemnly.  "I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet."  He paused, probably checking his computer.  "Ah! Entering clear space - end of the line - mission closed."

oOoOo

The TARDIS materialized in the hold of the rocket.  The Doctor bundled Ida out into Danny’s waiting arms just as she was coming to.  She stared around her in disbelief, and mouthed a thank you to the Doctor, who simply smiled and walked back into the TARDIS.  He waited impatiently, flipping controls like others might finger worry beads.  Then the door opened, and she was there.

He smiled up at her and ran to her, meeting her halfway and sweeping her into his arms.  He held her tightly, lifting her clear off the floor before swinging her around.

"How did you know it would work?" she asked softly as her feet touched down again.  "Whatever you did on the planet?"

"Because I know you," he said simply.  He looked down at her, arms still encircling her waist.  "And you are brilliant."  He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before moving away.  "And now I absolutely must get out of this space suit.  Orange, I think you’ll agree, Rose, is not a good color for me."

He turned away and considered his options quickly.  Now that death or separation weren’t imminent, panic at his earlier words was clawing at him.  They were true, and she had to know, but just having them spoken aloud meant…so much else.  Everything between them was already so…heartbreaking.  Admitting out loud just how tragic it was couldn’t possibly help matters.

“Did…um…were you able to get in touch with Ida before you left?” he asked as he turned back to her.

Rose watched him carefully.  He wouldn’t deny if she told him.  He couldn’t.  But that didn’t change the naked fear in his eyes.  He was so afraid to put it into words, to say it out loud.  She knew it was because of her supposedly human time limit.  Everything was so much harder for him to say, because all too soon, it wouldn’t matter.  She would still be gone, and he would still be alone, with his pain and memories of what should have been.  She couldn’t tell him yet that it didn’t have to be that way…and it broke her heart to try to push him when he didn’t have all the facts.  After everything else they’d been through today, she just couldn’t do that to him, not if he wasn’t really ready.

“No,” she said finally, shaking her head.  “We never got the comms back up.”

He nodded and let out a breath.  His relief was palpable…but there was something else.  Just a twinge of…regret.  He’d tell her someday.  Someday, he’d work up his courage and tell her exactly how much he loved her, and how long he had.  Just…not today.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.  “For leaving you.  They wouldn’t have let me stay—“

“Nor should they have,” he said, cutting her off gently.  “You saved them, and it was right for you to go while you could.  I’m certainly not one to hold running against anyone.  I’m just sorry that I abandoned you…again.”

“But you didn’t,” she said, looking confused.  “You said it yourself, someone had to go down with her.  Just don’t go jumping in any more pits to battle mythical creatures anytime soon, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he said with a smile as he took her hand.  He looked down when she flinched.  “Rose…what the hell did you do to your hand?” he asked, raising up the split knuckles and bruised flesh for inspection.

“I…may have tried to beat up the comms,” she said, not looking at him.

He looked at her for a second, slack jawed.  “Word of advice, Rose,” he said, pulling out his sonic and shaking his head.  “Don’t get in fights with large pieces of metal.  They tend to win.”

The bruising abated, but the flesh still looked pink where it had been cut.  He pulled it up and kissed it tenderly before pulling her over the console, then wrapping one arm around her waist to pin her to his side as he opened the comm to the rocket again.

"Zach? We’ll be off, now," he said cheerfully.  "Have a good trip home.  And the next time you get curious about something—oh…what’s the point? You’ll just go blundering in. The human race…"

Rose poked him in the chest, whispering, “Says the man who jumped into a bottomless pit to fight the Devil.”  He grinned down at her.

"But Doctor, what did you find down there?" Ida asked.  "That creature - what was it?"

"I don’t know!" he said brightly.  "Never did decipher that writing. But that’s good! Day I know everything? Might as well stop."

"We beat it," Rose said.  "That’s good enough for me."

"Agreed," the Doctor said.  "Right, onwards, upwards! Ida, see you again, maybe!"

"I hope so," Ida said. 

"And thanks, boys!" Rose said happily as the Doctor arched a brow at her.

"Hang on though, Doctor," Ida said slowly.  "You never really said… you two… who are you?"

"Oh…" He looked down at Rose, his beautiful impossibility, the one thing he could still believe in, and smiled.  "The stuff of legend."


	59. Fight or Flight

_The Doctor ran through the TARDIS, shouting her name, but somehow instinctively knowing she wouldn’t answer.  With each second his terror was growing.  He had to find her.  He needed to find her.  Something was wrong.  He couldn’t lose her like this._

_“Rose!” he yelled, desperately._

_His endless sprint brought him once again back to the console room, and skidded to a stop.  Rose was lying on the grating at the top of the ramp, her body broken and twisted at odd angles.  There was sizzling sound as her blood dripped through the grating and into the machinery below her._

_“No,” he whispered, his voice hoarse._

_He ran to her side, kneeling beside her, cradling her shattered form closely.  He pushed matted hair from her face, remarkably untouched but so, so still.  Everything vibrant and beautiful was gone.  He held her close as a sob tore from his chest._

_“The Valient Child,” said the voice of the Beast with a chuckle as flames erupted around the room.  “Losing her war against Time.  You are the cause of the secrets she keeps, and you will be the cause of her demise. Were it not for you, she would live.  How does it feel, Time Lord, to be the cause of so much pain and misery?  You, the killer of his own kind, the one who survives as all else burns to ash in his wake…the monster who leads the woman he loves to her death, simply because he is too coward to walk away.”_

_“I’m sorry, Rose,” he whispered as the flames grew higher and the Beasts laughter surrounded him.  “I’m so sorry.”_

The Doctor woke with a start, sitting bolt upright on the sofa he’d fallen asleep on.  His chest heaved against the tight band around it, and panic rose quickly against any air he was able to draw in.  He scrambled off the sofa and bolted from the room, down the twisting corridors, slowing only to steer himself into the room housing the pool.  He pulled his suit jacket off hastily as he toed out of his trainers, diving in without pausing to remove anything else, traversing the length with long, powerful strokes.

For two weeks, he’d tried to push it away, tried to act like he was fine, like the words spoken on that doomed rock had no effect on him.  For two weeks, he’d succeeded in his lie.  Now he swam against the thoughts trying to drown him.

It wasn’t the first time someone had said she was keeping secrets from him.  The raspy voice of Cassandra came back to him from New Earth, where Rose had done the impossible and locked herself away from a psychic attack that should have killed her.  She’d said it was the TARDIS…but the TARDIS couldn’t do that.  Strengthen her, maybe, but not lock her mind down like that.

To hear it again from that damned Beast, the voice in the darkness, had shaken him.  Rose had outshone the words in her fury and brilliance, but after the chaos died down, they echoed back in his head.  He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was keeping something monumental from him, something that could destroy them both.  Her peculiarities were getting harder to brush off in his fear of what part they played in that missing piece of her, that elusive mystery that refused to be unveiled.

In his dream, the Beast had said that her secrets were his own doing…he was the cause of them…and he would be the cause of her demise.

He pushed himself harder as the image of her broken and bleeding body rose up in his mind again.

If he had let her go the first time she’d said no, if he’d pushed her from his mind, if he’d been able, she wouldn’t be keeping secrets, and she wouldn’t be riding down a slippery slope to an early death.  He’d thought the best case scenario was that he would have to lose her after five or six decades.  He realized now that was a delusion of grandeur.  The life he led would kill her far more quickly.

She was going to die, and it would be entirely his fault.

The TARDIS gave him a hard mental shove and he nearly drowned.

_The Beast lies,_ the ship sang into his mind.

_Everything the Beast said was true,_ he thought back, still pushing his protesting muscles through the water with a frenzied pace.  _It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was still the truth._

_When the truth has been distorted so that the meaning is lost, it is a lie_ , the TARDIS sang back to him.

_She’s got dangerous secrets, and she’s going to die_ , he thought back angrily.  _Not a whole lot of ways to distort **that** particular message._

_You know better than most, Time Lord, that some secrets are only dangerous if they’re revealed at the wrong time_ , hummed the ship.

What the hell was _that_ supposed to mean?  He pushed harder still against the resistance of the water, ignoring the scream from his muscles as his respiratory bypass kicked in.

_Trust her_ , the song urged.

_Trust her to die— **soon** —in some battle I brought her to,_ he thought back harshly.

_Time is not a fixed thing_ , the song came, and had his head not been underwater, he would have growled in frustration.  Of course time wasn’t a fixed thing.  He _knew_ that.  He was a _being_ of time.  That didn’t change the fact that she was going to die, and soon.

_That was not a prophecy,_ sang the ship.  _That was the voice of your own fears.  There is no certainty that either of you will survive any battle—but likewise, there cannot be any certainty that either of you won’t._

He felt waves of reassurance from the TARDIS.  He knew that made sense.  For every timeline in which she died, there could be ten in which she didn’t.  That wouldn’t stop that one from scaring the hell out of him.  The image of holding her lifeless body amidst flames flashed in his mind again, but the TARDIS replaced it with one of her smiling at him as they flew away from Krop Tor, every inch the vivacious, beautiful, brilliant Rose that he loved.

With a groan he finally pulled himself from the pool, feeling shaky as he flopped on his back on the tile.

While his mind could apparently slink past the secrets and peculiarities, he couldn’t quite rid himself of the way her body had felt in his arms the moment he knew he’d failed her.  He probably already was failing her, simply by exposing her to his life.  The one person he could respect, the one person who could keep him in check…and just by keeping her around, he was killing her.

oOoOo

_“Get out,” the Doctor said in a hard voice, his eyes cold as he stared down at her from in front of the console.  “I never want to see you again.”_

_“But I did it for both of us!” Rose cried, pleading with him from where she stood, her back against the door.  “We needed to save each other.”_

_“No, you needed to save yourself, and you used me to do it,” he said.  “You manipulated my affection to stay alive.  Well, you’ve succeeded.  You’re alive, and you’ll have a long time to suffer the consequences of your selfish actions.”_

_“But you love me!” she yelled.  “You said so yourself!”_

_“No,” he said.  “You’re a lie.  The Beast was right.  The girl I loved is dead.”_

_“And so the Valient Child wins the war,” intoned the Beast as the Doctor turned away.  “But at such a cost.  The secrets you’ve kept have destroyed you and the one you love.  You, who took it upon yourself to manipulate the lives around you, to govern over beings far more powerful than yourself, now doomed to walk alone through eternity.  Anything worthy about you died in that room…live now a lonely wraith, forgotten by time and hated by the one man who dared to love you.”_

_“I’m sorry, Doctor,” she whispered through tears, falling to her knees as the TARDIS dematerialized around her.  “I’m so sorry.”_

Rose sat bolt upright in bed, shaking and gasping.  The dream was wrong, the Beast was wrong, but if it was a lie, why couldn’t she breathe?  Her body twitched as adrenaline coursed through her system, and she flung the covers back, reaching down to pull on her trainers before sprinting from the room.  She ran hard through the twisting corridors, sending up a silent thanks to the TARDIS as sharp corners became gentle curves while she ran from the fears that chased her.

By the time the battle came, she would have been lying to him for two years.  He’d said he loved her, but still couldn’t say it to her face.  Would it be any easier when her long deception was revealed?  Even if she could win, somehow manage to stay on this side of the Void, would he even want her then?

_He already knows what you’re doing,_ the TARDIS sang.  _He just doesn’t remember._

_Yeah, and how much has happened since then?_ She snapped back.  _How much closer has he let me?_

_That has nothing to do with what you’ve done,_ the TARDIS sang gently.  _It has everything to do with who you are._

_But will he even consider that?_ She wondered.  _Will he be able to when he finds out that someone he trusted, someone he lived with and loved, lied to him for two years?_

_The only lie you told was regarding Ida Scott,_ the ship reminded her.  _You told him the truth once, and hidden it since.  That’s not a lie._

_You really think he’ll care?_ She practically screamed in her head as her breath came in pants.  _He’s been betrayed before by so many different people in so many different ways.  You really think he’ll be in a position to think about this **logically**?_

The image of him in the dream, the cold expression and the body rigid with fury came back to her, making her put on an extra burst of speed.   She couldn’t bear to see that expression, or cause him that pain.  At least before he could always remember that her last words to him were “I love you.”  Maybe the Beast was right.  What was the point of winning the War if she destroyed everyone else in the process?  She’d railed on him for his compulsive need to control his environment, how was she any better?

_That was **not**_ _the Beast,_ the TARDIS buzzed harshly in her mind.  _That was your own fear and self-doubt. You have fought so hard, and so well, for so long.  Don’t give in now._

Rose shook off the thoughts and turned another corner, barreling through the door to the garden when she found herself suddenly at a dead end.  She skidded, trying to stop, when she realized her mistake, but still fell headlong into the pool.  She choked on water as she sank, her surprise keeping her survival instincts from kicking in right away.  She had just started to kick her legs up when she felt a strong arm around her, hauling her to the surface and pushing her up onto the tile again.  She turned to her side, coughing and sputtering as the Doctor rose out of the water next to her.

“Rose, you damn little fool,” the Doctor said through gritted teeth as he rubbed her back vigorously.  “What the hell were you doing?”

“It…it didn’t look like the pool door,” she choked out, her voice rough.  “I was running…I thought it was the garden.”

“The…what?” the Doctor asked, thrown as he looked over at the glass doorway, then up at the ceiling suspiciously.  Then she was in his arms, two deceptively strong bands of steel, being held close to his chest as he trembled slightly.  She made no move to protest…even soaking wet, this was far better than the vision of hatred in her memory.

“Sorry,” she said after a moment.  “Your clothes…”

He made a dismissive noise.  “They were already wet.  I…may have…gone for a swim before you got here.”

“On purpose?” she asked, her lips twitching.

“Oh yes,” he said.  “I do everything with a purpose.  Why were you running?  Weren’t you asleep?”

“Bad dream,” she admitted, and he pulled away to look down at her in surprise.  “What?”

“Bad dreams…so you took off running through the TARDIS?” he asked slowly.

“Spike in adrenaline triggering a fight or flight response,” she replied automatically.  “I chose flight.  What about you?  Diving in full clothed?”

“Same basic principle,” he murmured.  His eyes were searching her face…for what, she couldn’t tell.  “I think I might be rubbing off on you a little too much, Rose Tyler.  All the running…talk of hormone responses…yelling at Beasts in pits…”  His eyes returned to hers when she shivered.  “That too, huh?”

“What?”

“Dreaming about the Beast,” he clarified.

“Oh…yeah,” she said, looking down.

“What do you think?” he asked softly.  “About what it said?”

She looked up at him.  It was a mark of how their relationship changed that he trusted her enough to admit that he was scared too, to ask her what she thought.

“I…think it lied,” she said determinedly.  “It saw the things we were afraid of, and used them as threats.  But it was just a voice in the dark, our fears brought to life.  None of it was true.”  She paused, looking up at him as he looked away.  She put a hand on his cheek, forcing his eyes back to hers.  “I’m not going anywhere,” she said, assurances against both their fears.  She wasn’t going to die, and she wasn’t going to let him leave her.  Prince of Darkness, meet the Big Bad Wolf.

He looked down at her for a moment, a storm raging behind his eyes.  She couldn’t help but wonder what his dream was about, but didn’t want to ask and risk bringing up her own.

“Rose…I…” He stopped, swallowing hard.

“I know,” she said softly, tracing her thumb over his cheekbone.  “Me too.”

He closed his eyes and let his breath out with a whoosh.  “Always,” he managed before kissing her gently.

He got to his feet a moment later, pulling her up and into his arms again, seeming to need some reassurance that she was really there.  She wrapped her arms around his waist as his went around her shoulders, and rested her head on his chest as his chin came down on her damp hair.

“So…now that we’re both evidently wide awake, what are we gonna do?” he asked after another long moment, obviously trying to distract them both.  “Something…not so adventurey, with any luck.  Oh, how about Broadway?  What do you reckon?  _Cats_?”

“Oh god, not again,” she moaned, and felt a chuckle vibrate through him before she pulled back to look at him.  “If you want to see something you’ve seen a million times…how about we change, grab a cuppa and watch the Muppet Movie?”

“Really?” he asked, grinning.  “I thought you said you’d never watch it with me again.”

“Yeah, well, never say I never did nothin’ for ya,” she said with a grin.

“Never ever,” he said fervently, kissing her nose before pulling her out into the corridor, babbling about the fundamentals of felt production and puppeteering.

She grinned, following after him.  She’d made him see the truth once…she’d do it again if she had to.  She’d been doing this too long to take anything less than happily ever after, and no one, especially not an already defeated enemy, was going to keep her from that.


	60. Love and Monsters

Rose had gotten the idea after he’d battled with the elemental shade.  He hadn’t even let her in the house.  It was too quick, too clever by half, he’d said, and it was all he could do to protect himself…he wasn’t going to risk her.  She’d argued with him that he would need help, that he couldn’t do it all on his own, but he’d been firm, severe even.  He had said in no uncertain terms that she was not to step foot out of the TARDIS, much less into the house…no matter how capable she was, this was one he had to do on his own.  Then he’d kissed her and gone off to fight the thing alone.  She spent the better part of the following days battling the Doctor’s demons after that adventure.  Once the guilt struck him, it clung to him, ripping at wounds that were barely healed.  She had stayed close when he tried closing himself off and distracting them both.  She had soothed him when he awoke, screaming and shaking, from the inevitable nightmares.  She had listened as he raged at the senseless injustice of the universe.  And then she had held his hand while he talked quietly and earnestly about what had happened, why he was so wracked with guilt. He had stopped it, but he hadn’t been in time to save the woman in the house.  If that wasn’t bad enough, her small son had come downstairs looking for her.  Rose could imagine him whispering his standard, heartfelt apology to the three year old before making the call to the authorities to take the boy, waiting just long enough to ensure their arrival before disappearing into the night.

He’d left her behind the first time too, but not like this.  He’d simply said he had something to take care of, and had come back cold and distant, keeping to himself for several hours until he’d run up to her again, all manic grins and cheerfulness, ready for the next adventure.  She hadn’t even known fully what had happened until he explained it to Elton later.  And she’d simply accepted it, because that’s how he was.  She couldn’t believe now that she had ever been so blind.

They had long ago blown past her original knowledge about this man, and she’d thought she’d known so much.  But it was moments like this that she realized she had never known him at all, not really.  She had fallen for everything he represented—the hero he was to so many, the freedom he had given her, the strength she had found in their travels—but now…now it was so different.  Now she knew some of the extent of the darkness he battled with every minute, of the memories that haunted him, and the pain that drove him.  Now she could love him for every scar and mistake he’d reluctantly revealed as well as every moment of courage he displayed.  She loved him for the man that he’d been, who’d given up so much for the sake of a universe that would never know what it cost him, and for the man he was trying to be, someone greater than the culmination of his mistakes, who could stand proud.  And she loved him because, while he would gladly fight any monster or demon the universe threw at him, his hardest struggle would always be against himself, caught between what he could do and what he should, as well as between what he wanted and what he thought he deserved.  She loved him because, even if he couldn’t say it, he showed in every look, in every touch, in every moment of weakness and every moment of strength that he loved her.  This time around, even though it terrified him, he’d found a way to lay down his sword and his armor with her, to show her who he was, and to accept some of the peace she offered.

And so, because of this scarred, brilliant man, and for the sake of her own sanity after still losing so much, she devised a plan with the TARDIS.  It was easier than she thought it would be to find the right date, and she’d felt a hum of amusement when she found the one that “felt right.”  They landed in London in chilly March, not quite the place or date that the Doctor had been aiming for, but exactly where they needed to be.  He would be able to give something back to the boy who’d lost his mother because even the Doctor couldn’t save everyone.

They sat at a small pub while she looked over a newspaper.  The Doctor was doing the crossword (in pen, she noticed with mild annoyance), specs perched on his nose and making him look sexier than he had any right to.  One of these days, she planned to ask him if he had any more specs…she’d been soaking up the library lately, and her eyes were starting to strain after a while.  She wondered if he’d think the same about her in specs as she did about him.

“What?” he asked, looking up when she gave a sort of startled laugh.

“Nothing,” she said quickly, shaking her head.  “Just…strange thoughts.”

“Any you’d care to share?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

She glanced down at the paper, and found the advert she’d been looking for.  “What d’you make of this?” she asked, handing over the paper.  He took it and glanced over the section she indicated, then made a little snort of derision and tossed it back to her.  “What?  They say they’re looking for anyone with information on the Doctor.”

“Yeah,” he said, going back to his crossword.  “Not the first time I’ve met up with LINDA.  They’re an odd group.”

“Don’t you think it’d be worthwhile to go and give them some sort of PSA?”

“How d’you mean?”

“Well…” she paused, unsure of how she’d actually get him to go along with this.  “They’re a group fascinated with you, right?  More information maybe than the average bloke on the street.”

“Eh, maybe,” he said with a shrug.  “But they’re harmless.”

“Would something looking for you know that?” she asked.  He looked up.  “To you, they’re harmless.  To other humans, they’re kooks.  But what about some alien landing here searching for you?  Would they automatically know that this lot isn’t perhaps the best authority on you?”

He considered her.  “And what would you have me say to them?”

“I dunno,” she said with a shrug.  “Just tell ‘em to keep their heads down, maybe answer a couple questions to keep them satisfied for a bit.”

“Rose, I am not doing a guest appearance at a fan club,” he said, shaking his head slowly.

“Oh, please, you are so unfair,” she said with a laugh.  His eyebrows shot up, making her laugh harder.  “Come on, you fanboy so hard over nearly ever famous person we meet.  Remember Dickens?”  He scowled.  “Or, or how about HG Wells?  Yeah, don’t think I don’t remember how that one turned out.  _The Time Machine_ , indeed.  I’d hate to think what you’d be like if we ever met Shakespeare.”

He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out with a whoosh.  “Alright fine, you win.  But you’re coming with me.  And we’re only staying ten minutes.”

“Twenty.”

“Fifteen, and that’s my final offer.”

“Fifteen it is,” she said with a smile.  “And what luck, they’re just around the corner!”

He looked at her suspiciously.  “Right…luck.” 

She grinned cheekily at him, and he shook his head as he stood, taking off his specs and tucking them into his pocket with the crossword before pulling on his coat.  He took her hand and strode off to the designated meeting spot of Linda.  With any luck, they would get there not long before the…thing made its first appearance to the group.

As they stepped into the elevator, they heard what sounded like an amateur band playing below them.  The Doctor gave her a significant look, but she ignored it.  The music stopped when the elevator did, and she heard drumsticks clatter to the ground as they stepped out, meeting a group of stunned faces.

“Hello,” the Doctor said cheerfully.  “I’m the Doctor.  I believe you’ve been looking for me.”

The group continued to stare open mouthed, and he glanced down at Rose.  She cleared her throat.  “Um, maybe some chairs, yeah?”

Elton, at the forefront of the group, was the first to unfreeze, followed by the tiny girl in specs…Ursula, if she remembered right.  She didn’t know the others…they had been absorbed long before she and the Doctor had made it on the scene.  Elton and the girl pulled around chairs into a circle as the rest others finally managed to regain their senses.  Rose took the Doctor’s hand, and, after another meaningful look, managed to pull him over to the ring.

“Play nice,” she said quietly in his ear as he sat down, squeezing his shoulders gently.  He took one of her hands and kissed it as she sat down next to him.

“So, then, LINDA,” he said as they all got comfortable.

“Er, yes, hello,” Elton said uncertainly.  “That’s, uh, London Investigative ‘N’ Detective Agency.  I’m Elton, this is Ursula, that’s Bliss, Bridget, and this is Mr Skinner.”

“Pleased to meet you,” the Doctor beamed.  Rose smiled.  “I’m the Doctor, but you knew that, and this is Rose Tyler.”

“Hello,” she said with a little wave.

“Here’s the thing, LINDA,” the Doctor said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, hands clasped in front of him.  “You’re out here looking for me.  I’m…not sure why.  But you need to be careful.  There’s things out there that are a lot more dangerous than you lot who sometimes come snooping around, and if you, say, advertise your group in the paper—“ The group collectively winced, and the Doctor arched an eyebrow. “—then one of these…things…might get the wrong idea and come to you first.”

“We just want to know who you are,” Elton put in.  “I saw you, once…when—“ He stopped, looking down.

The Doctor studied him carefully, but was interrupted before recognition hit.

“And to thank you,” Ursula said when Elton didn’t start talking again.  “You’ve been around every time something bad has happened.  You’ve stopped it.”

“Not all of it,” he said softly.  “But really,” he continued, his voice more normal, “there’s not much extraordinary about me.  You lot, though…finding each other across the internet because of one obscure commonality, forging relationships with each other out of it, that’s impressive.”

Rose didn’t miss the glance Ursula gave Elton, or the one Mr Skinner gave Bridget.  Forging relationships, indeed.

“But can’t you tell us something about yourself?” Bliss asked.  “You mean so much to so many people, can’t you give us something real?”

“I’m…a man with a box that travels in time and space,” he said slowly, leaning back and taking Rose’s hand again.  “Sometimes, I end up in…unsavory situations.  Mostly, I go to concerts,” he said with a wink at Rose.  LINDA looked perplexed.  “Really, I’m not special.  I’m no one, and I’d prefer to stay that way.”

“What kind of concerts?” Elton asked hesitantly, and the Doctor beamed at him.

“Um, what was the last one, Rose?” he asked.

“Frank Sinatra,” she supplied.

“Oh, that’s right, Frankie and Dean Martin…” he trailed off, grinning.  “We danced and reeked of cigarettes and gin for hours.”

“And what about you, Rose?” Bridget asked.  “What’s your place in all of this?”

“Oh, I’m just around so he has someone to show off to,” she said cheerfully.

“That’s not true,” the Doctor said with a frown, running his thumb over her skin.

“Then what is it, Doctor?” Mr Skinner asked, genuinely curious.  “There has been some speculation about you and your…er…travelling companions.  I don’t think I realized you were quite so…close to them,” he added, looking pointedly at their linked hands resting casually on the Doctor’s thigh.

“Oh, no…I mean, I do travel with others at times, but it’s not…like that.  Well…usually it’s not.  But Rose…she’s my…” he hesitated.  Rose looked at him with a small smile and an arched eyebrow.  “Well, clearly she’s…um…”

He was saved from saying exactly what she clearly was when the lights went out.  He straightened and looked around, squeezing Rose’s hand, and they both swiftly and silently moved to a corner of the room that wouldn’t be seen by anyone entering.  They watched dimly as a man entered the room and set down his briefcase.

“Lights,” he said, gesturing expansively, and the lights turned back on.  “So, we meet at last…’LINDA’.”

“Interesting cane,” the Doctor said softly in Rose’s ear where they crouched behind the man.  “That man…is not what he seems at all.”

“And you didn’t want to meet them,” Rose whispered back with a grin.  He rolled his eyes and returned his gaze to the newcomer.

“Pleased to meet you, sir,” Mr Skinner said, standing and extending a hand. “And you are?”

“No no no no, I don’t shake hands,” the man said, backing away.  “Back, back. I suffer from a skin complaint—Eczeema.”

“Oh, you mean ‘eczema’?” Elton asked.

“Bit worse than that, I think,” the Doctor murmured.

“Oh, this is worse, much worse,” the man said.  “I blister to the touch. Back, back—all of you, further, further. Thank you.”

“Or…a touch could cause something else…” mused the Doctor.

“Sorry, don’t mind me asking, but who are you?” Elton asked.

“I am your salvation,” the man said.

The Doctor crept out of the corner to stand directly behind the man.  “Salvation, really?” he asked, scratching the back of his head with one hand as he buried the other in his pocket.  “See, I would have picked a different word.  That just makes you sound like a religious nutter.”  The man had whirled around and was staring at the Doctor.  The Doctor dropped the hand on his head to bury it in his pocket as well, rocking back on his heels as he smiled.  “Sorry, I’m the Doctor.  And you are?”

The man backed a little ways toward the group.  “I’ve misjudged you, LINDA,” he said.  “It seems you are far more effective than your website gives you credit for.”

“Oh, well, yeah, I can’t miss an opportunity to chat with my fans can I?” the Doctor asked with a grin.  “You, on the other hand…you’re not a fan.  You’re not even human, are you?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” the man said, looking insulted.

“Yeah, you would say that wouldn’t you?” the Doctor commented with a goofy laugh.  “Cause the whole point of a Shimmer is so that no one knows that the person wearing a Shimmer is, in fact, wearing a Shimmer at all.”

“And what, pray tell, is a ‘shimmer’?” the man asked haughtily.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the man.  “Shimmer,” he said, and the whole façade dropped.  The man morphed into a flabby, troll like creature with…odd markings.  Rose shuddered when she saw distinct, though much more absorbed, faces all over him.

“Just a shimmer?” Rose asked as she stepped forward, surprised.  The Doctor glanced at her.  “I dunno, I guess I was expecting a skin suit.  He does look a bit…Slitheen.”

“Not from Raxacorricofallapatorius, are you?” the Doctor asked, eyeing him.

“No! I’m not the swine!” the thing said, his voice and demeaner now completely changed.  “I SPIT on them! I was born on their twin planet.”

“Really?” the Doctor asked, surprised.  “What’s the twin planet of Raxacorricofallapatorius?”

“Clom,” it said.

“Clom,” the Doctor repeated in a flat voice.  He shook his head.  “So…what are you, then?  You’re…what, absorbing people?  Like some sort of…sort of absorbatrix? Absorba… clon? Absorbaloff?”

“Yes, absorbaloff, I like that,” it said, pointing at him.  “And now I’ll have you, Doctor.  The greatest feast of all.  And I’ll return to my planet victorious when I possess your travelling machine.”

“Well, that’s never gonna happen,” the Doctor said with a sniff.

“Oh, it will. You’ll surrender yourself to me, Doctor,” it said, and hit Elton with his cane, driving him to his knees in front of him.  “Or this one dies.”

“Don’t touch him,” Rose warned when the others moved forward.  “One touch and you’re done for.”

“You see, I’ve read about you, Doctor,” the absorbaloff continued, ignoring everyone else.  “I’ve studied you. So passionate, so sweet. You wouldn’t let an innocent man die. And I’ll absorb him—unless you give yourself to me.”

The Doctor scratched the back of his head again.  “Sweet… maybe,” he said.  “Passionate…mmm, I suppose,” he added, and Rose didn’t miss the way he eyed her surreptitiously, making her eyebrows shoot up.  He turned back to the absorbaloff, dropping his hand.  “But don’t ever mistake that for nice.  At best, I could maybe stretch for patient.  Very, very patient.  Patient enough to give you the chance to leave before I show you how incredibly not nice I can be.”

“You’re wasting my time,” the absorbaloff spat, his hand hovering over Elton.  “And forcing this human’s death.”

“For instance,” the Doctor said, his voice still even, almost as if he hadn’t heard the aborbaloff speak at all—almost.  “If I were to, say, set my handy sonic screwdriver here to differentiate between unique DNA signatures and provide them with just enough electrons from the environment to repel each other, well…that wouldn’t be very nice at all, would it?” he asked, twirling the sonic around in his fingers.

“What are you talking about?” the absorbaloff demanded, perplexed.

“You’ve absorbed a lot of people in your time,” the Doctor said darkly.  “That’s a whole lot of different DNA swimming around inside.  And my patience is running out.  I suggest you take me up on my offer to let you leave in peace very, very soon.”   

“You can do nothing to me,” the absorbaloff sneered.  “Now, submit, or force the consequences on this defenseless human.”

“Remember that,” the Doctor said, his voice menacing.  “Remember that I gave you the opportunity to leave.”  He flicked on his sonic, and different bits of the absorbaloff began to pulsate and squirm and twist, pulling its skin in different directions.  “Elton, the cane,” he said quickly.

Elton looked up, confused momentarily, then grabbed the cane out of the absorbaloff’s flailing hand and snapped it over his knee.

“My cane!” the absorbaloff shouted.  “You stupid man—oh no!”  He yelled again, and then turned into liquid and fell to the floor.

“What did I do?” Elton asked fearfully.

“The cane created a limitation field,” the Doctor said, watching the bubbling remains of the absorbaloff. “Now it’s broken, it can’t stop. The absorber is being absorbed.”

“By what?” Mr Skinner asked.

“By the Earth,” the Doctor said, looking up at him.

The group stared in stunned silence as the thing that had swept so swiftly through their lives melted into the concrete floor.  Rose glanced at the Doctor, who was again studying Elton, though this time he gained a look of horrified realization.  He caught the man’s eye and nodded toward a more isolated area, Rose following after a brief hesitation.

“You don’t remember, do you?” the Doctor asked Elton quietly.  The man shook his head slowly, and the Doctor sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face.  “There was a shadow in your house,” he said softly, painfully, looking at the wall above Elton’s head.  “A living shadow in the darkness. An elemental shade had escaped from the Howling Halls. I stopped it, but… I wasn’t in time to save her.”  Rose put a hand on Elton’s shoulder as the Doctor lowered his gaze to look him in the eye.  “I’m sorry.”

Elton stood digesting this for a moment, tears in his eyes.  Then he gave a little nod.  The Doctor squeezed his other shoulder, and moved to guide him back over to the group.

“Hold on,” Rose said.  “Elton, Ursula is a proper mate, yeah?”

“Yeah, she’s…she’s the best,” he said, a small smile breaking through.  The Doctor gave Rose a confused look.

“Yeah…you should take her out sometime,” she suggested.  “Sometimes…your best mate turns out to be more than you bargained for.”

He stared at her, confused for a second, then cut his gaze to Ursula and back.  His smile grew.

“I might just do that,” he said, and took a deep breath before walking back to the group.

“Best mate turns out to be more than you bargained for?” the Doctor asked, stepping close to her, his arm going around her back to rest on her opposite hip, his lips against her hair.

“Sometimes,” she said softly, looking up at him with a smile.  He leaned in and kissed her lightly before walking back to the group.

“Right, you lot,” he said.  “Think that little show made it fairly clear what could happen if you advertise interest in me.  So do me a favor…stop being LINDA in a dingy basement room, and go out there and just be _friends_.  Save yourselves a lot of hassle.”

They nodded, and Mr Skinner came forward to shake the Doctor’s hand.  “Can’t thank you enough, sir,” he said.  “Don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t picked today to come by.”

“Yeah…that is…fortuitous, isn’t it?” he asked, casting a sidelong glance at Rose, who looked back at him blankly.  “Right, well, we’ll be heading off.  Lovely to meet you all, remember what I said.”

He gave them a lazy salute and took Rose’s hand, pulling her toward the elevator and then out of the building.

“That was…extremely lucky,” he commented, swinging their arms as they walked back to the TARDIS.

“Well, you did say that’s the kind of man you are,” she replied.

“I did, didn’t I?” he mused, smiling.  “Has been fairly accurate too.  Plus there’s you…my Fortuna,” he said with a wink.  He laughed when she rolled her eyes.

As they reached the TARDIS, she stopped, pulling him up short.  He turned to her, looking down at her quizzically.

“You know what could have happened to them if you hadn’t been there,” she said quietly.  He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second, then nodded.  “You saved them.  All of them.”

“I also killed someone,” he said softly, with a twinge of regret.

“You gave him a choice,” she reminded him.  “You always do.  The decisions we’re forced to make…they’re not always easy.  But there are some people that have to be stopped, and there are people that can be saved.  You always remember the people you’ve lost.  Don’t forget the ones you didn’t.”

He looked down into her eyes for a moment, then swallowed hard and shook his head before wrapping his arms around her.  She leaned into his chest and he rested his chin on her head, sighing a little.

“You’re not just a companion,” he said quietly after a moment.  “You never were.  I hope you know that.”

She pulled back and looked up at him.  “I know,” she said softly before leaning up to kiss him softly.

“Quite right,” he murmured after a moment, then took a deep breath, his Time Lord attention span once again leading to a mercurial mood shift as he opened the door to the TARDIS.  “Now!  Rose Tyler…where do you want to go next?”

“Oh, I dunno,” she said following him up the ramp.

“Ancient Greece old?” he asked.  “Or…1985 old?”

“Oi!” she said with a laugh.  “Um…I dunno, you choose.”

“Hmm…something in between,” he said flicking switches.  “1773, Boston.  How’s a little rebellion against the Crown sound?  After all…we have already been banished,” he said with an eyebrow waggle.

She choked out a laugh and nodded before turning away, breathing deeply as he danced around the console.  Yet another reminder of what had happened, and what was to come, even if he didn’t know yet.  But she’d changed this one drastically.  None of the little group had gotten absorbed.  That bolstered her hope that she would be able to make the necessary changes when the time was right, to save them both.


	61. Electricity

“Never again,” Rose said grumpily as the Doctor handed her a cup of tea with a grin.

“Oh, come on,” he said.  “It wasn’t that bad.  It was Benjamin Franklin!”

“And rain,” she said, running a hand through her still damp locks as she sat down on the sofa.  “Lots and _lots_ of rain.  And you!  I’m surprised you have any hair left, the shock you got!”

“Superior Time Lord biology,” he said, preening his carefully tousled hair.

“Hmph,” she said.  “Whatever.  Next time you wanna play with electricity, we’re doing it indoors.”

“We could always go back to Wardenclyffe,” he suggested.

“Oh, god, Tesla and his pigeons,” Rose groaned.  “I was picking feathers out of my hair for _hours_.  Mind you, the look on his face when you got those Tesla coils to play ‘House of the Rising Sun’ was phenomenal.”

“Yeah, might have been a little ahead of him,” the Doctor said with a chuckle.  “Ah, Tesla.  Mad as a spoon, but completely, _completely_ brilliant.”

“You know, for someone who is supposedly so superior to humans, you sure do fawn over them,” Rose commented, looking up at him over the rim of her cup.

He shrugged.  “Brilliance is brilliance, regardless of the species.  Why do you think I keep you around?”

He reached out and tousled her hair affectionately, and she smiled up at him.  She grabbed his hand as he pulled it away, looking up at him with her impossibly large eyes.  He ran his thumb over her knuckles and let her pull him down next to her, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her.

“Tell me a story,” she said as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

“Hmmm…like what?” he asked against her hair.

“I dunno…more of your adventures before I met you,” she suggested.

“Um…” he trailed off, thinking hard.  He’d actually told her…quite a lot of his more notable adventures in the time that they’d been travelling together.  Even the ones he didn’t like to remember.  “Let’s see…not the Aztecs…not Mondo…not the mummy…not the miners…not Terra Alpha…Blimey, Rose, you’ve gotten a lot out of me.”

She grinned up at him, completely unapologetic, and he shook his head.

“Okay…well, alright, how about something from Gallifrey?” she asked, and he stilled.

“Like what?” he asked, his expression guarded.  His home planet was still not an easy subject, even with Rose.

She thought for a minute, biting her lip.  “You said…you said your childhood was lonely,” she said quietly.  “Wasn’t there anyone, though?  Some friend you had that…I dunno, was a kindred spirit or something?”

He looked into the fire.  There was one…but it was not a happy story, and an even worse ending.

“It doesn’t matter, Rose,” he said.  “They’re all gone now.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.  “I just…I wish you had some memories that were good.”

His gaze shifted from the fire down to her.  She wasn’t looking at him, just off into space, and looked near tears.  Not because he wasn’t talking, he realized, but on his behalf.  His pain genuinely hurt her.

“I do,” he said quietly, looking back at the fire.  “Unfortunately, all the stories from that place end the same way—pain, chaos and death.  The moments that I had that weren’t…that were worth remembering are all simply pieces of other tales of misery.  There were…individuals…other Time Lords…in different times that—but I lost them all, in a lot of different ways.  The Time War took what was left.”

He stared into the fire, seeing fields of red grass under a burnt orange sky, with two young boys running through it.  Young, naïve, idealistic…so sure that one day, they could change their world.  And they both had, in their own ways.  One sought power over it, while the other was forced to destroy it.

“There was…one person,” the Doctor said, his voice hushed.  “Another Time Lord.  We grew up together, went to the Academy together, _ran away_ from the Academy…oh, so many times.  We both…saw flaws in the way things were handled.  We saw those in charge as myopic, arrogant beings who lorded their powers over the universe.  Which…isn’t inaccurate, but…when it came to how to make changes…we differed.”

“How so?” Rose asked when he paused, lost again in his memories.

“I stole a TARDIS,” he said, scrubbing a hand over his face.   “He assassinated the Lord President.”

“Oh my god,” Rose squeaked, eyes wide.

He sighed.  “Remember when I told you about the Untempered Schism?  How some were inspired…some ran away…”

“…and some went mad,” she finished sadly.

“There was a lot that happened between then and the assassination,” he continued softly.  “After that…it just sort of spiraled.  Somewhere along the line, we went from being the best of friends, kindred spirits as you said, to mortal enemies.  I ended up being on the opposing side of him a lot after that.  When he wasn’t trying to destroy me, he was trying to destroy everyone else.  And he was incredibly good at it.  He was brilliant, but brilliant like broken glass…all shattered and chaotic.  Suffice it to say, he is one of those beings that, unfortunately…the universe is probably better without now.  ”

“So the one real friend you had…ended up your mortal enemy,” she said sadly.  He nodded.  “I’m so sorry, Doctor.”  She put a hand on his chest, between his hearts.  “You’re the Doctor…who was he?”

“The Master.”

“The one that heals, and the one that dominates,” she said softly.  “That…really sums you two up, doesn’t it?”

“We didn’t pick them on accident,” he said.  Then he sighed again.  “There was so much, though…so many things that I could have done, or not done, so many things that could have been avoided…and he might not have become what he was.”

“You feel guilty for him being an evil power hungry sociopath bent on your destruction?” she asked, blinking.

He gave a bitter chuckle.  “I guess so.”

“Doctor…if you’re responsible for your actions, or inactions as the case may be, then so was he,” she said softly.  “You can’t blame yourself because evil exists.  It’ll exist with or without your help.  And you can’t keep falling on your sword for mistakes made centuries ago.  You think you have so much darkness…but you bring light to so many, all across the universe, all the time.  It’s time you start seeing that as well.”

He continued to stare into the fire, his eyes burning.  He didn’t mention the Valeyard, or the trial, or the the Master’s place…and absence…in the War.  He didn’t go into all the things he’d done and all the things he’d missed during their mutual falls from grace.  He couldn’t.  There was still so much that he couldn’t tell her, couldn’t show her.

But even this, telling this fractured fairytale from a broken world, brought light into a part of him that had been dark for centuries.  She didn’t do him the disservice of denying that he may have made mistakes…she just made it exceptionally difficult to continue crucifying himself for them.  She’d been doing that since their first trip together on Platform One.  Life was a little less painful, the guilt a little less suffocating, the nightmares a little less frequent…all because of this tiny little pink and yellow human who, inexplicably, loved him enough to try to take away some of the hate he had for himself.  He might be a light to everyone else, but she was his—his shining star.

He couldn’t see the distance anymore.  He’d tried to put her on a pedestal as a goddess of absolution, and she’d shattered it.  He’d tried to lord himself over her, the weaker species, and she’d brought him to his knees.  There was no more distance, and he couldn’t fight anymore.  She wouldn’t last forever, he could never offer her more than what they already had, but he couldn’t deny her anymore either.

“Rose, I do have darkness,” he said, his eyes still trained on the fire.  “A lot of it.  But a lot less than I used to.  Enough that I don’t feel like I’m walking on razor’s edge to keep from falling into it all the time.  And that’s because of you.”  He paused, taking a deep breath.  For someone with such an unstoppable gob, this just shouldn’t be this difficult.  He wondered if she could feel his hearts hammering in his chest.  Probably.  The increased circulation was making him feel dizzy.  He closed his eyes briefly as he swallowed hard.

“I love you, Rose Tyler,” he said in a low, rough voice.  He swallowed again and looked down at her to see her staring up at him in shock.  “I’ve loved you since the first time I asked you to come with me.”

She continued to stare up at him for a moment, then, to his horror, tears filled her eyes.  But then she laughed, and leaned up to kiss him soundly, leaving him a little dazed.

“I love you, too, my Doctor,” she whispered in his ear, then sat back down and snuggled into him, suddenly asking about some errant detail that she’d been confused about regarding an adventure he’d had with Ace.  He stared at her for a minute, every gear in his head locking.  Then something clicked into place and he answered her automatically.  She nodded, then started talking about a documentary she’d seen on the History Channel about somewhere they’d been, laughing at how much of it they got wrong, even making him giggle.

And that was it.  She didn’t ask him all the questions he dreaded: what it meant, why now, what it would change—none of his answers were good enough.  But no, instead, she was just…Rose.  After all the arguments in his head, all the terror at what three little words could do to him, she’d made his confession nearly painless…just like she always did.  And he loved her all the more for it.


	62. Fear Her (part 1)

The Doctor watched Rose closely from behind the cover of the time rotor as she made her way into the console room.  He was glad to see this was one of her better days.  Over the past few weeks, her moods had been a little…strange.  Her nightmares were getting more frequent, he knew that…he’d caught her more than once sprinting through the TARDIS, a haunted look in her eyes.  Once she’d even come to him, curling up in his bed and sobbing into his chest for an hour before he’d been able to calm her down and coax her back to sleep.  She never told him what her dreams were about, not really, only that the pervading theme was leaving someone alone, or being left alone herself.  But then, come morning, she’d be off on the adventure, none the worse for wear…but then that had changed too.  There were days now, not often, but growing more noticeable, where she barely ate, and had a sunken look around her eyes, and she just wanted to stay in the TARDIS and watch old movies.  He was happy enough to acquiesce; any time with Rose was fantastic, and when he was with her, he could actually stay still for a while.  He was getting concerned, though.  He just wasn’t entirely sure what to do about it if she wouldn’t talk to him.

It didn’t help that things felt…off in general.  Something…didn’t feel right.  Something he couldn’t explain yet, and certainly not to Rose.  Anyway he tried to explain would probably just spook her more.

But that wasn’t his concern right now.  Right now…Rose was having a better day, and he had just the place to take them to enjoy it.

“It’s about time you made yourself decent,” he said, coming around the console and surprising her by wrapping an arm around her waist and lifting her into a spinning hug.  “C’mon, things to do, people to see, places to go.”

“And where’re we going?” she asked with a grin as he pulled her to the console.  Rose was feeling decent today, and the Doctor’s sheer exuberance at going somewhere new was the best anti-depressant she could think of.  She was hoping he hadn’t noticed how clingy she’d gotten lately…but knowing him, he had noticed, noted, and was already trying to figure out a way out of it.

“Oh, hold on, though,” he said, spinning around again, reaching around her to sonic off her necklace and catching it before digging into his pockets for new charms to affix.

“Where are you getting those?” she asked, not able to hold back her curiosity anymore.  “I mean, we haven’t been going to that market district…that I know of.”

“Nah,” he said, focused on his task.  “I gave up on that.  I have plenty of materials here.”

“Wait…hold on, so you’ve been _making_ them?” she asked, stunned.

“Mmhmm,” he said before glancing up at her with an arched brow.  “Why?  Is that a problem?”

“No,” she said quickly.  “I just…wow.  Didn’t expect that.  How long do they take?”

“Depends,” he said, looking back at the necklace.  “The forget-me-nots took _ages_.  Had plenty of time to work on them, though, when you—“ he glanced up at her again, then coughed awkwardly.  “Anyway.  Yes.  I make them.  Usually not more than a couple days.  I work on them when you’re asleep.  What?”

She was staring at him with a bemused smile.  “You really are impressive,” she said.

“Are you telling me that you’re just figuring this out _now_?” he asked, looking mildly insulted.  “Rose Tyler, you wound me.”

“Shut up,” she said with a tongue in teeth grin as he put the necklace back on her.  He kissed the corner of her mouth lightly as he pulled back, admiring the effect.  A cross…that she could understand, though she wasn’t sure about the tiny roses etched into it…and a lightning bolt.

“You and your electricity,” she said, shaking her head, but leaned up to kiss his cheek and whisper her thanks.

"Right, off we go," he said with a grin, bouncing over to the console and working at the controls.  She grabbed hold of the railing as the TARDIS shook, and wandered after him as he ran to the door, shrugging into his coat on the way.  She grinned when he poked his head out before making a disappointed sound and darting back to the console.

"Not quite where you meant to go?" she asked sweetly.

"Hush," he said gruffly.  "Just needed to turn around.  C’mon," he called, grabbing her hand running for the doors again.

They stepped out into the bright by chilly sunshine onto a quiet street.  Rose glanced around.

"Near future, yeah?" she asked, recognizing the setting immediately.

"I had a passing fancy," the Doctor said.  "Only it didn’t pass, it stopped."

She followed him down the street until they came within sight of the LONDON 2012 banner.

"30th Olympiad," the Doctor said happily.

"Aw, brilliant!" Rose cried, linking her arm through his.  She really had enjoyed herself at the games last time, after the whole business with the Isolus had been sorted.  "You’re so good to me," she said, leaning up to kiss his cheek, making him beam down at her.

"Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about,” he said as they wandered off down the street.  “Wrestling each other in the sand with crowds stood about, begging… no, wait a minute… that was Club Med," he added, giggling and nudging her.  "Just in time for the opening doo dah - ceremony… tonight, I thought you’d like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948. I loved it so much, I went back and watched it all over again. Fella carrying the torch… lovely chap, what was his…?"

Rose wandered away as he rambled, looking at the missing posters that were tacked to the lamp post.

"Doctor," she called.  She looked around as he continued walking, yapping to himself about tea parties and edible ball bearings.  She shook her head and rolled her eyes.  "Doctor," she sing-songed.  He turned on one foot.  "You should really look at this."

He sauntered back over to her.  “Nobody else in this entire galaxy’s ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings. Genius.”  He looked at the posters, then scanned the street.  “What’s taking them, do you think?  Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this. Why’s it so cold…? Is something reducing the temperature…?”

"It says they all went missing this week," she noted. "Something got here fairly recently, then."

"Hmm…yeah, definitely recent," he said, looking distracted.

"Whatever it is, it’s got the whole street scared to death. Doctor, what—“ she turned to see him jogging to the other end of the street and sighed.  "Every time," she muttered, trudging down the street.  "Tells me not to wander off, but oh no, he’s the Doctor, dash off wherever he pleases; have sonic, will travel, never mind how often that gets him into trouble that I end up having to talk him out of."

She stopped when the car driving down the road stuttered to a halt, the engine cutting out completely.

"There you go," the council worker said.  "Fifth today. Not natural, is it?"

"I dunno what happened," the driver said.  "I had it serviced less than a month ago."

"Nah, don’t even try and explain it, mate," said the council worker—Kel, that was his name.  "All the cars are doing it. And do you know what? It’s bonkers. Bonkers. Come on then, pal. I’ll help you shift it," he went on as the driver got out.  "Quicker you’re on the way, happier you’ll be."

"Do you want a hand?" she asked as the two men strained to shift the vehicle.

"No, we’re all right, love," Kel said.

"No, you’re not," she said with a grin.  "I’m tougher than I look, honest."

She moved behind the car and helped shift it with ease.  It had become a habit to take off through the corridors if she had a bad dream; that, added to the swimming that she did routinely in the pool had built up a fair amount of lean muscle.  In moments, the car was past the bad point, and Kel fell over as it sprang to life.

"Does this happen a lot?" she asked as he picked himself up and dusted himself off.

"Been doing it all week," he complained.

"Since those children started going missing?" she asked.

"Yeah, I s’pose so," he said.

Rose bit her lip and thought hard.  See, she could remember making that connection early last time too…but it had been forgotten in the chaos of Cloe Weber.  This was where the pod was…that’s why the cars kept stopping.  The heat must have been drained from them, making internal combustion impossible.  She’d certainly have to keep that in mind later.

"Every car cuts out," Kel was saying, and she started to follow him.  "The council are going nuts. I mean, they’ve given this street the works. Renamed it… I’ve been tarmacking every pot hole…Look at that," he said, gesturing proudly at the street.  "Beauty, init? Yep! And all that is because that Olympic Torch comes right by the end of this close. Just down there. Everything’s got to be perfect, ain’t it? Only it ain’t."

"It takes ‘em when they’re playing," said an older woman as they passed by.

"What takes them?" Rose asked, stopping.

"Danny…Jane…Dale…snatched in the blink of an eye," the woman replied.  Rose frowned, then looked up as she heard the Doctor’s voice coming closer to them.  She shook her head when she saw him backing away from a very irate looking father.  _Every time._

"I’m—I’m a police officer! I’ve got a badge—and—and a police car…you don’t have to get—I  can—I can prove it! Just hold on—“ he said, fishing in his pocket for the psychic paper.

"We’ve had plenty of coppers poking around here," the other man said roughly.  "And you don’t look or sound like any of them."

"See, look! I’ve got a colleague!" he said, pointing at Rose.  "Lewis."

Rose nodded at the man as he eyed her.

"Well, she looks less like a copper than you do," he said.

"Yeah, she’s very good at undercover,” he said distractedly.  “Specialty is looking like a shop girl, but don’t let her fool you…ah, Voila!" he cried, brandishing the psychic paper while Rose snickered.

"What are you going to do?" Trish asked, joining the group.  Rose eyed her.  She was already nervous.  She already knew Chloe had something to do with it, but didn’t think anyone would believe her.

"The police have knocked on every door," the old woman said.  "No clues, no leads, nothing."

"Look, kids run off sometimes, all right?" the rough man said, and Rose’s eyebrows shot up. "That’s what they do—“

"Dale Hicks in your garden, playing with your Tommy, and then…poof!" the woman said.  "Right in front of me, like he was never there! There’s no need to look any further than this street. It’s right here amongst us."

"Why don’t we—“ the Doctor started, but was interrupted as the group started bickering.  She watched, hiding a smile, as he got more and more frustrated with every interruption until:

"FINGERS ON LIPS!" he shouted at the group, bringing his own finger up.  He stared around at them, eyebrow arched, daring any of them to disobey.  One by one, they raised their fingers up until he looked pointedly at Rose, who raised her own finger hurriedly.  "In the last six days, three of your children have been stolen. Snatched out of thin air, right?"

"Er…can I…?" the old woman asked hesitantly, and the Doctor nodded at her.  "Look around you…this was a safe street ‘til it came. It’s not a person. I’ll say it if no one else will. Maybe you’re coppers, maybe you’re not. I don’t care who you are. Can you please help us?"

While she spoke, Rose looked up to see Chloe watching them.  A lonely kid, possessed by a lonely alien, hiding herself away with her nightmares…she looked down to see Trish hurrying back inside and sighed.

"Come on," the Doctor called, hurrying back to the garden after assuring the neighbors that he could, in fact, help them.

Rose watched as he sniffed around the area, turning to give a cheery grin to the neighbor peeking through the curtains to watch.  She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and sniffed.

"Smell it?" the Doctor asked, glancing at her.

"Yeah…sort of…metal?" she suggested.

"Mmhmm…" he said, nodding and grinning at her.  He waved at the window before walking off again to the next site of disappearance.

"Danny Edwards cycled in one end but never came out the other," he said as they walked down a narrow alley.  "Whoa, there it goes again!  Look at the hairs on the back of my manly hairy hand," he added showing her his hand.

"And there’s that smell…it’s like a um…a burnt fuse plug or something," she said.

"There’s a residual energy in the spots where the kids vanished," the Doctor said, lacing his fingers through hers.  "Whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this."

"Aren’t you a beautiful boy?" Rose cried as they exited the alley and she caught sight of the cat.

"Thanks! I’m experimenting with back-combing," the Doctor said behind her as she hurried over to the cat.  "Oh," he added, sounding disdainful.

"What?" she asked, looking back at him and the disgusted look on his face.

"No, I’m not really a cat person," he said, looking away.  "Once you’ve been threatened by one in a nun’s wimple, it kind of takes the joy out of it."

The cat started walking away, and Rose followed close behind as it stepped into a box.  She heard a sort of whoosh and then a distant meow.  “Doctor,” she called, hurrying to the box.  She turned the box over but backed off quickly when the smell hit her.

"Whoa! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" the Doctor exclaimed, waving away the stench before picking up the box.  "Ion residue. Blimey! That takes some doing!" he said, turning the box around, looking fascinated.  "Just to snatch a living organism out of space/time. This baby is just like, I’m ‘avin’ some of that—I’m impressed."

"So the cat’s been transported?" Rose asked.

"It can harness huge reserves of ionic power," the Doctor said, dropping the box.  "We need to find the source of that power.  Find the source and you will find… whatever has taken to stealing children and fluffy animals. See what you can see.  Keep ‘em peeled, Lewis," he added, gesturing to his eyes, then grabbed the back of her head to smack a kiss on her forehead before running off.

Rose shook her head and wandered off in another direction.

_Let’s see…probably can’t explain the scribble creature outright, he could get peeved if he doesn’t get to use his fancy equipment, not to mention the fact that it’d be pretty odd to come up with **graphite** , of all things, all spur of the moment_, she thought.  _Could try to work in the pothole theory…wonder if I can keep Chloe from scribbling him away then—_

She stopped when she heard banging and clattering from the garage to her side.  She walked up to it slowly, eyeing it.  The scribble creature hadn’t actually hurt her, just knocked her down and scared the hell out of her…she cursed as she looked at the garage handle.

"Gotta open it," she said softly.  "Gotta.  Can’t figure it out without it.  Oh, I am getting so tired of this," she added as she reached for the handle.

Sure enough, the thing flew out at her as soon as the door opened.  She was knocked to the ground as it hovered menacingly overhead, and she heard the Doctor shout at her to stay still as he rounded the corner.  It was just another second after that that the scribble creature shrank and dropped into her hands.

"Okey dokey?" the Doctor asked, standing over her and grasping her wrists to help her up.

"Yeah, cheers," she said breathlessly.

"No probs," he said with a grin before pulling her into his arms.  He planted a quick kiss on her hair before pulling away and focusing again on the now minute scribble creature.  "I’ll give you a fiver if you can tell me what the hell it is, cause I haven’t got the foggiest," he said, poking it with the screwdriver.

"Was it actually like…you know, a living thing?" she asked.

"Nah," he said with a sniff.  "It’s animated by energy. Same energy that’s snatching people."  He tossed it up and caught it, grinning.  "That is so dinky! The Go-Anywhere creature. Fits in your pocket… makes friends, impresses the boss…breaks the ice at parties…" Rose laughed as he pocketed it and took her hand, moving off towards the TARDIS.

"Tell you what," Rose said, rubbing her arms as they entered the TARDIS.  "Good to be somewhere warm again."

"Yeah, it is awfully cold, isn’t it?" he asked, turning to her with a frown.  "That is…very not right."

"Think it has something to do with this ionic whatsit?" she asked.

"Could be," he conceded, shrugging off his coat.  "Makes sense."  He bounced up to the console and popped the scribble creature into a slot on the console.  "Right, give that a minute…”

“So…very good at undercover, eh?” she asked, only now realizing how insulting the comment he made the first time could have been.

“Mmm, yeah,” he said, watching the calculations on the screen before looking up and eyeing her.  “You certainly had me fooled, for a little while anyway.”

“What gave me away?” she asked with a smirk.

“In my experience, normal shop girls don’t generally take the Tarzan approach to defeating a Nestene consciousness,” he said with an arched brow, then looked down again when the monitor beeped.  “Heigh ho, here we go.  Let’s have a look.”  He studied the monitor showing circular Gallifreyan symbols, crossing his arms.  “Get out of here…” he said softly, peering at it.

"What’s it say?" Rose asked.

Rather than answer her right away, he pulled a pencil out of his jacket while he picked up the creature again, holding it aloft as he used the eraser on the end to rub out part of it.

"It is!" he cried, blowing on it.  "It’s graphite! Basically the same material as an HB pencil."

"I was attacked by a scribble creature," Rose said flatly.

"Yep," he said, popping the ‘p’ as he sniffed the creature, then held it out to Rose to sniff, stepping purposely close to her as an afterthought.  "Brought into being with ionic energy. Whatever we’re dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. But… why make a scribble creature?"

"Maybe it was a mistake," she suggested.  “I mean, you scribble over something when you wanna get rid of it. Like in…say…a child’s drawing." He glanced down at her.  "You said it was in the street."

"Probably…"

"The girl."

"Of COURSE!" he cried, then, "…what girl?"

"Something about her is off," she said.  "Even her own mum looked scared of her."

"Are you deducting?" he asked, leaning in closer.

"I think I am," she said conspiratorially, if a little breathlessly.

"Copper’s hunch?"

"Permission to follow it up, sarge," she said.

"Granted," he said with a smile, then leaned down to kiss her quickly before pulling her to the door and dragging her down the street, bounding up to Chloe and Trish’s door when Rose pointed it out and knocking.

"Hello! I’m the Doctor and this is Rose," he said as Trish opened the door.  "Can we see your daughter?"

"No!" Trish cried quickly.  "You can’t."

"Okay! Bye," the Doctor said, still cheerful, and turned away with Rose.

"Why?" Trish called after them.  They both pivoted back to her.  "Why do you want to see Chloe?"

"Well, there’s some interesting stuff going on in this street," the Doctor said.  “And I just thought - well, we thought - that she might like to give us a hand."

"Sorry to bother you," Rose added with a wave when Trish still looked suspicious.

"Yeah, sorry," the Doctor said.  "We’ll let you get on with things…on your own. Bye again!"

They both turned and began walking away slowly.

"Wait!" Trish called, and they turned back to her.  "Can you help her?" she asked hopelessly.

The Doctor smiled at her.  “Yes, we can.”


	63. Fear Her (part 2)

"She stays in her room, most of the time," Trish said as Rose sat down on the sofa, the Doctor flinging his coat next to her.  "I try talking to her, but it’s like trying to speak to a brick wall. She gives me nothing, just asks to be left alone."

"What about Chloe’s dad?" Rose asked.

"Chloe’s dad died a year ago," Trish said quickly.

"I’m sorry," Rose said.

"You wouldn’t be if you’d known him," Trish replied with a curl of her lip.

"Well! Let’s go and say hi!" the Doctor said brightly.

"I should check on her first," Trish said hesitantly.  "She might be asleep."

"Why are you afraid of her, Trish?" the Doctor asked softly.

"I want you to know before you see her that’s she’s really a great kid," Trish said quickly.

"I’m sure she is," the Doctor assured her.

"She’s never been in trouble at school," Trish insisted.  "You should see her report from last year. As and Bs."  She smiled proudly at Rose, who gave her a small smile back.

"Can I use your loo?" she asked after a beat.  Trish nodded, and Rose left the room as Trish continued to try to convince the Doctor that her daughter was the model child.

Rose crept up the stairs and down the hall, darting into the hall closet when Chloe stepped out of her room.  Once the girl passed by and down the stairs, Rose once again tip toed into her room.  She took in all the drawings of the various children that had been taken.  She had a slightly different outlook on the whole thing now…she knew that the Isolus really was just lonely, and doing what it could to ease that pain.  God knew she’d done some crazy things to ease her own loneliness…like jumping into a younger version of herself in another universe, for instance.  But this still had to stop.

"I’m sorry," she said softly to the pictures, touching one gently.  "I’m so sorry.  But we’ll get you out, I promise."

Behind her, she heard the wardrobe doors start shaking.  She turned quickly.  She could see a red light spilling through the cracks, and hear a muffled, rough sounding voice.  She took a couple of wary steps toward it.

"Chloe…" the voice called.

Feeling almost hypnotized, Rose pulled at the doors, the red light washing over her and wind blowing at her face.  The red light was coming from the eyes of the bearded man at the back of the wardrobe, who Rose now knew to be Chloe’s dad.  His face was contorted with fury, his fists balled.

"I’m coming," the voice said menacingly.

"Doctor!" she shouted.

"I’m coming to hurt you," the voice threatened as the Doctor barreled into the room, pulling Rose away by the shoulders as his other arm swept out to slam the wardrobe doors shut.

"Look at it," she gasped.

"No, ta," the Doctor said, his eyes skimming over her face to make sure she was alright.  He touched her cheek briefly then turned away, putting on his glasses as he examined the pictures all over the walls.

"What the hell was that?" Trish asked, alarmed.

"A drawing," Rose said shakily.  "The face of a man."

"What face?" Trish asked, going for the doors, but Rose stood in front of them.

"Best not," she said, shaking her head.

"What’ve you been drawing?" Trish asked, turning to Chloe.

"I drew him yesterday," the girl answered.

"Who?"

"Dad."

"Your dad?" Trish asked, shocked.  "But he’s long gone. Chloe, with all the lovely things in the world - why him?"

"I dream about him," Chloe said.  "Staring at me."

"I thought we were putting him behind us," Trish moaned.  "What’s the matter with you?"

"We need to stay together," Chloe said.

"Yes, we do," Trish agreed.

"No. Not you," Chloe said, making the Doctor glance up at her.  "Us. We need to stay together. And then it’ll be all right."

Trish stepped over to her daughter, putting her hand on the girl’s cheeks.  Rose winced as Chloe flinched at the contact, and exchanged a look with the Doctor.

"Trish, the drawings," Rose said slowly.  "Have you seen what Chloe’s drawings can do?"

"Who gave you permission to come into her room?" Trish asked her coldly, her arm around Chloe’s shoulders.  "Get out of my house."

"Tell us about the drawings, Chloe," the Doctor urged quietly.

"I don’t wanna hear any more of this," Trish said angrily.

"But that drawing of her dad…I heard a voice," Rose said.  "He spoke."

"He’s dead," Trish insisted.  "And these—they’re kids pictures. Now get out!"

"Chloe has a power,” Rose pressed.  “Somehow, she’s used it to take Danny Edwards, Dale Hicks—she’s using it to snatch the kids."

"Get out," Trish ordered again.

"But you’ve seen it, haven’t you Trish?" Rose asked softly.  "Out the corner of your eye, you’ve seen those pictures move.  You know something’s happening, but you can’t explain it, so you just try to dismiss it, because you don’t think anyone will believe you.  Isn’t that right?"

"She’s a child—“ Trish tried to say in a broken voice.

"And you’re terrified of her," the Doctor said softly.  "But there’s nothing you can do about it, because who’s gonna believe the things you see out of the corner of your eye? No one. Except us."

"Who are you?" she asked, her eyes glancing between them.

"We’re help," Rose said softly, touching her shoulder.

Back in the kitchen, the Doctor swiped a jar of marmalade of the counter, unscrewed the lid, and dipped his fingers into it as he leaned against the counter.  He started to lick the jam off, but caught Rose’s look, his face guilty as she mouthed no.  He glanced at Trish, who was staring at him oddly, and meekly put the lid back on the jar and pushed it behind him.

Rose shook her head.  “Those pictures,” she said.  “They’re alive. She’s drawing people and they end up in her pictures.”

"Ionic energy," the Doctor said.  "Chloe’s harnessing it to steal those kids and place them in some kid of holding-pen made up of ionic power."

"If living things can become drawings," Rose said slowly, “then does that mean drawings can become living things?  ‘Cause the drawing in her wardrobe…"

"Chloe’s real dad is dead, but not the one who visits her in her nightmares," the Doctor said thoughtfully. "That dad seems very real. That’s the dad she’s drawn and he’s a heartbeat away from crashing into this world."

"She always got the worst of it when he was alive," Trish said sadly.

"Doctor, how can a twelve-year-old girl be doing any of this?" Rose asked.

"Let’s find out," he said after a pause, striding off again.  Trish and Rose followed him back up to Chloe’s bedroom, where the girl was sitting cross-legged on her bed.  She gave the Doctor the ‘long live and prosper’ sign.  "Nice one," he said.

He knelt in front of her and gently held her head in his hands, his fingers on her temples.  Her eyes rolled back in her head before they fluttered closed. 

"There we go," the Doctor said softly, quickly reaching for the back of her head to lay her gently on the bed as she fell.

"I can’t let him do this—“

"Shh, it’s okay," Rose said, laying a hand on her arm.  "Trust him."

"Now we can talk," the Doctor said as he straightened up.

"I want Chloe," the girl said in a strange, rasping whisper.  "Wake her up. I want Chloe."

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked.

"I want Chloe Webber!" she said again, banging a fist on the mattress.

"What’ve you done to my little girl?" Trish asked tearfully as both Rose and the Doctor moved closer to the bed, circling it on opposite sides.  The Doctor glanced up at her, but then nodded, and she sat down near Chloe’s head.

"I’m speaking to you," the Doctor said in a strong voice.  "The entity that is using this human child. I request parlay in compliance with the Shadow Proclamation."

"I don’t care about shadows or parlays," Chloe whispered.

"So what do you care about?" he asked.

"I want my friends," she said.

"You’re lonely, I know," he said softly as he knelt near her.  "Identify yourself."

"I am one of many," the little girl said.  "I travel with my brothers and sisters. We take an endless journey. A thousand of your lifetimes. But now I am alone. I hate it. It’s not fair. And I hate it!"

"Name yourself!" the Doctor ordered as the girl’s eyes snapped open.

"Isolus."

"You’re Isolus," the Doctor said slowly in realization.  "Of course."

"Our journey began in the Deep Realms when we were a family," she said, and began to draw on one of the pieces of paper near her hand quickly.

"What’s that?" Trish asked as the drawing began to take shape.

"The Isolus Mother, drifting in Deep Space," the Doctor said.  "See, she jettisons millions of fledgling spores. Her children. The Isolus are empathic beings of intense emotions, but when they’re cast off from their mother, their empathic link, their need for each other, is what sustains them. They need to be together. They cannot be alone."

"Our journey is long," the little girl chimed in.

"The Isolus children travel, each inside a pod," the Doctor continued.  "They ride the heat and energy of solar tides. It takes thousands and thousands of years for them to grow up."

"Thousands of years just floating through space," Rose said, stroking Chloe’s hair.  "Poor things—don’t they go mad with boredom?"

"We play," Chloe said.

"You play?" Rose asked.  "Using the ionic power, yeah?"

The Doctor nodded with a little sound of confirmation. “They use it to literally create make-believe worlds in which to play.”

"And that helps keep them happy," she said.

“Yeah,” the Doctor said.  “While they’re happy, they can feed off each other’s love. Without it, they’re lost.  Why did you come to Earth?” he asked Chloe curiously, touching her arm lightly.

"We were too close," she said, and ripped the piece of paper she was drawing on away, starting a fresh one.

"That’s a solar flare from your sun," the Doctor said, looking over the child at it.  "Would’ve made a tidal wave of solar energy that scattered the Isolus pods."

"Only I fell to Earth," she said.  "My brothers and sisters are left up there. And I cannot reach them. So alone."

"Your pod crashed…where is it?" Rose asked.

"My pod was drawn to heat," she said.  "And I was drawn to Chloe Webber.  She was like me. Alone. She needed me. And I her."

"Two lonely mixed up kids," Rose said softly, still stroking the girl’s hair.  "You wanted to be with her because she was alone like you."

"I want my family. It’s not fair," Chloe said, again banging a fist in frustration.

"I know," Rose said soothingly, feeling the Doctor’s eyes on her.  "You want to make a family. But you can’t stay in Chloe. It’s wrong. You can’t steal any more friends for yourself."

"I am alone," Chloe said, as if this justified everything.

Suddenly, there was a thump from the wardrobe.  They all looked up, and Trish gasped.

"I’m coming to hurt you," said the voice of Chloe’s dad.

The little girl’s face stayed neutral, but the rest of her started to shake and tremble.  Rose put a hand on the girl’s shoulder, trying to comfort her.  There was another pounding sound on the door of the wardrobe.

"I’m coming," the voice said.

"Doctor," Rose said, eyeing the girl.

"Trish, how do you calm her?" he asked urgently.

"What?"

"When she has nightmares, what do you do?"

"I… I…" Trish stammered.

"What do you do?" he asked again, adding another layer of urgency to his tone.

"I sing to her," she said finally.

"Then start singing," he said, motioning her over.  She sat down at Chloe’s side opposite of Rose, who moved away hurriedly.

"Chloe… I’m coming," said the menacing voice again as Rose circled around the bed, the Doctor reaching out a hand for her, pinning her to his side once she was close.

They watched as Trish began singing the Kookaburra song for Chloe, stroking her hair as she tried to soothe her.  The banging and threats continued from the wardrobe for another moment, but finally abated.  Chloe turned on her side, peacefully asleep now.

"It came to her because she was lonely," Trish said through tears.  "Chloe, I’m sorry."

oOoOo

"Chloe usually got the brunt of his temper when he’d had a drink," Trish said, striding through the living and collecting various pencils strewn about.  "The day he crashed the car, I thought we were free.  I thought it was over."

"Did you talk to her about it?" Rose asked, handing her another bunch of pencils.

"I didn’t want to," Trish said, averting her gaze.

"Oh Trish…that’s why Chloe feels so alone," Rose said gently.  "Cause she has all these terrible dreams about her dad, but she can’t talk to you about them."

"Her and the Isolus," the Doctor said slowly.  "Two lonely kids who need each other."

"And it won’t stop, will it, Doctor?" Rose asked.  "It’ll just keep pulling kids in."

"It’s desperate to be loved," he replied.  "It’s used to a pretty big family."

"How big?" she asked.

The Doctor scratched at the back of his head.  “Say around… four billion?”  He paused for a moment, then grabbed his coat.  “We’ll be back,” he told Trish earnestly, squeezing her shoulder briefly before walking out the door.

"We need that pod," he said, shrugging into his coat.

"It crashed," Rose said.  "Will it be alright?"

"Well, it’s been sucking in all the heat it can," the Doctor said.  "Hopefully that should keep it in a fit state to launch.  It must be close. It should have a weak energy signature that the TARDIS can trace. Once we find it, then we can stop the Isolus."

"Doctor, hold on," Rose said grabbing onto his arm to stop him as he strode toward the TARDIS.  "It said it was drawn to heat, yeah?"

"Yeah," he said glancing down at her.

"So what was creating lots of heat here a week ago?" she asked, looking up and down the street pointedly.

"Rose, I can do a scan for the same trace we picked up from the scribble creature," he said, but he followed her gaze down at the road, walking away a couple feet as a new thought occurred to him.

"Yeah, we could, yeah," Rose said.  "Course we could.  But we don’t really—“

The Doctor glanced over at her when her sentence cut off, but found himself looking at a deserted street.

"Rose?" he called, looking up and down the street.  "Rose!"

There was nothing left but a tingling sensation and the faint scent of burnt metal.


	64. Fear Her (part 3)

The Doctor spun around to Trish’s house, knocking frantically on the door.  As soon as it was opened, he pushed past her up the stairs, the white hot rage that always consumed him when Rose was threatened pushing him forward.

"It’s okay!" Trish said, following him.  "I’ve taken all the pencils off her!"

"Not all of them," he said crossly, sprinting down the hall and bursting into the girl’s bedroom.  He strode across the room and ripped away the piece of paper that Chloe had drawn Rose on.

"Leave me alone!" the Isolus said.  "I want to be with Chloe Webber! I love Chloe Webber!"

"You took her away because she told you to leave," he said, his voice low and dark.  "That was a bad idea.  You will give her back to me _now_.”

"No," the child said petulantly.

"She was trying to help you!" he shouted.  "We both were!  Bring her back!"

"Leave me alone!" the child shouted back.  "I love Chloe Webber!"

The Doctor took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face, turning away from her.  He could practically hear Rose telling him to calm down, that it was a child.  This wasn’t normal circumstances…he couldn’t get angry and destroy things like he wanted to.  He forced some measure of calm over his fear and anger before he spoke again.

"I know," he finally said quietly.  "I know."  He looked down at the paper in his hands.  Child or not, lonely or not, it had crossed the line, that invisible line he had between what he could take and what he couldn’t, the one that had been drawn by the girl he’d waited over 900 years to find.  This was stopping, right now.  He dropped the paper on the bed and turned.  "Don’t leave her alone, no matter what," he warned Trish as he left the room again, barely noticing the way she backed away as he strode out of the house, his face hard.

The Doctor looked around the street.  “Heat…they travel on heat,” he muttered to himself.  “Something was giving off a lot of heat in the last week, something it was drawn to.”  He glanced at the TARDIS.  He could still run a scan—but Rose said something in the street…he knew better by now than to discount her instincts.

"Look at this finish," the council worker from earlier was saying.  "Smooth as a baby’s bottom."

The Doctor stared at him for a second before realization dawned.  “OF COURSE!” he shouted, making the worker jump.  “You—what was your name?”

"Uh…Kel," the man said uncertainly.

"Right, Kel," the Doctor said, hurrying over to him.  "You’ve been laying tarmac all week, fixing up these potholes, yes?"

"Yeah."

"Right, I need you to think back to a week ago, six days.  Which one were you working on then?" he asked.  "Which one was first?"  Kel stared at him.  "Come on, first one, need an answer."

Kel glanced around the street, then down at his feet.  “This one,” he said.  “I was laying this one for the first time.”

"This one?" The Doctor glanced down, then smiled.  "Hot fresh tar, just the place for a heat seeking ship to burrow into."

"Blended to a secret council recipe," Kel said, but the Doctor wasn’t listening.  He ran his sonic over the pothole, and grinned when it picked up alien tech.  Leave it to Rose.  But he couldn’t use the sonic to _get_ to it…it might blast the tarmac off, but it could smash the pod as well.  Sturdy, but not necessarily  sturdy enough for the sonic.  He needed something else…he spotted the council van and hurried toward it.  He ignored Kel’s repeated warnings of council belongings and calling the council as he opened the van and grabbed an axe inside.

_Oh, Rose would have loved this_ , he thought wryly as he brought the axe down on the tarmac, well away from where the scan had picked up the pod.  Once it broke apart, he dropped the axe and fished around inside, grinning and giggling goofily as his hand folded over the pod.

"Oh, hello, you beautiful thing you," he said, bringing it up and smacking a kiss on it before looking back up at Kel, who was staring at him with a bemused expression.  "Went for the hottest thing in the street. Your tar!"

"What is it?"

"It’s a spaceship," the Doctor said delightedly, tossing it up and catching it.  "Not a council spaceship, though…they can’t have everything."

He stood and ran back into the house and found Trish in the sitting room.

"Alright, I found the pod, but now I’ve got to find a way to charge it up," he said quickly, pacing.  "Heat, needs heat, lots of heat…something else?  Hold on," he said, spinning back around on her.  "I told you not to leave her alone."

“ _My God,” said_ the TV.  _"What’s going on here?"_

The Doctor turned, and saw the empty stadium on the television.  He made a frustrated noise and ran back upstairs to Chloe’s room.  He heard Kel shouting something behind him, but didn’t stop until he reached Chloe’s door.  He tried to open it, but found it was jammed…something in front of it was keeping it from moving. 

“Isolus!” he called, banging on the door.  “You will open this door.  I found your pod, but I can’t help you from out here.”

There was no response.  He growled and, hoping to god it wasn’t a bookcase, threw his elbow hard into the door with all his weight and inhuman strength.  The door splintered around his arm, and he was able to snake a hand in and move the chair blocking his way.  He found the girl drawing a large picture of the Earth on the wall.

"No!" he cried, striding forward, but the wardrobe shook violently.

"If you stop Chloe Webber, I will let him out," the Isolus threatened.   "We will let him out together. I cannot be alone. It’s not fair."

"Listen to me," the Doctor said.  "I’ve found the pod.  I can send you home.  But you have to stop this."

"The pod is dead," the child said.

"No, not dead…just…dormant," the Doctor said, pacing well away from the child.  "Come on, come on…how do you charge an Isolus pod?  They travel on heat…but you need more than heat to survive don’t you?"

"What are you talking about?" Trish asked.  "What does this have to do with anything?"

"There’s a lot of things you need to get across this universe," he said, rapid fire.  "Warp drive…wormhole refractors…You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold.  That’s what it needs, it needs love.  Heat and love.  How the hell am I supposed to manage that?" he asked, stopping and looking up.

"I’m not being funny or nothing, but that picture just moved," Kel said, and the Doctor followed his finger automatically.  "And that one!" The Doctor looked down and saw the picture of Rose…pointing at a simple sketch of the Olympic Torch.  A symbol of hope, and unity, and love, all across the world.

"Oh, you brilliant, beautiful girl," he said, sprinting back out of the house.  He jogged down the street to where people had congregated, cheering as the torch bearer passed by.  He looked down, and saw lights flash faintly on the pod as it made small chirps.  He smiled madly as he pushed through the crowds.  "Torch inspector," he said, flashing the psychic paper at the policemen controlling the crowds.  "Just have to make sure it’s…you know, burning correctly."

He stepped past them up to the torch bearer, dropping the pod in as he passed.  The flame flared for a second, making the torch bearer stumble slightly, but he dismissed it and ran on as the Doctor grinned.

"Torch is fine," he said merrily as he slipped past the policemen again, who were staring at him with confused expressions.  "Burning bright, symbol to all and all that.  Cheers!"

He jogged back down the street, smiling as the missing children materialized around him.

oOoOo

Rose didn’t even have time to acclimate herself to being back in reality before she was swept up in the Doctor’s arms.

"You did it!" she cried, grinning widely as he held her tight.

"Sorted," he replied, then pulled back to look at her.  "Couldn’t have done it without you.  Have I told you you’re brilliant?"

"Might’ve," she said, flashing her teasing tongue in teeth grin.  "Feel free to repeat yourself."

He laughed and kissed her fiercely.  “You’re brilliant, Rose Tyler.”  Then he released her and started running back to the TARDIS.

"Where’re you going?" she shouted after him.

"Just gotta check something," he called back.  "I’ll be back."

"I don’t know who you are, or what you did, but thank you, darling!" the old lady cried happily, before Rose could make any other response to the Doctor.  The lady leaned up and kissed her cheek and Rose laughed.  "And thank that man for me too!" she added before walking away.

Rose sighed as the TARDIS dematerialized, and glanced around her.  All the drawings had been brought to life, all the children were back.

_All the drawings had been brought to life._

Rose spun around to Trish’s house.  A red light was coming from the girl’s bedroom.  She sprinted for the house and banged on the door.

"Trish, get out of there!" she screamed.

"I can’t!" came back Trish’s panicked voice.  "The door’s stuck!"

"Mummy," she heard Chloe whimper.

Rose cursed, trying the door again.  “Chloe, listen to me. It isn’t real like the others. It’s just energy left over by the Isolus, but you can get rid of it—”

"Help us!" Trish yelled through the door.

"It’s ‘cause you’re so scared that he’s real!" Rose yelled. "But you can get shot of him, Chloe!  You can do it, Chloe!"

"I can’t!" Chloe yelled, terrified. 

She repeated this, as well as calls for her mother, over and over, the voice of her father getting louder and louder, until Rose finally heard Trish say, “I’m with you, Chloe. You’re not alone. You’ll never be alone again.”

"Sing again!" Rose shouted.  "Chloe, sing!"

They started singing the Kookaburra song again.  It came out soft and broken at first, but as their voices got stronger, the sound of Chloe’s father’s voice got weaker, until it was silent completely.  Rose sagged against the door in relief.

"Where’s your friend gone?" Kel asked, walking up.

"Dunno," she said evasively.  "Said he had something to take care of.  Knowing him he’ll end up in the Olympics throwing a javelin or something."

"Yeah, well, part of that better be explaining why the road’s all torn up," Kel said mulishly.  Rose looked up at him.  "D’you know, he tore up the street with an axe?  Who does that?"  He stared at her blankly when she burst into laughter.

oOoOo

The Doctor came back to the thoroughly ordinary, though now much happier, street after ensuring that the torch and pod made their journey successfully.  He wandered down the street, wondering vaguely where Rose was, when he heard her voice behind him.

"Cake?"

He turned to see her holding out a cupcake decorated with edible ball bearings.  They both burst into laughter as he walked up to her and took it from her hands.

"Top banana!" he said, then took a bite while she grinned proudly.  "Mm. I can’t stress this enough. Ball bearings you can eat - masterpiece!" 

He took another bite, then held the rest out to her, popping it into her open mouth with a grin.  He threw his arms around her as she chewed, kissing her hair.  Once again, she had been pulled away from him, but once again, they’d made their way back to each other, just like they always would, as long as they were able.

_As long as he was able._

Dark thoughts intruded…something was wrong.  He pushed it away hurriedly.

"That was slick," he said, releasing her to take her hand as they wandered down the street together.  "Harnessing the ionic energy like that.  Quick thinking.  Not easy, either.  Well done, you."

"Well, you know me," she said with a grin.  "Just too good."  He grinned down at her.  "What now?"

"I wanna go to the games!" he said.  "What we came for!"

"Go on, give us a clue," she said.  "Which events do we do well in?"

"Well, I will tell you this," he said.  "Papua New Guinea surprises everyone in the shot put."

"…Really? You’re joking, aren’t you?" she asked, giggling.  "Doctor, are you serious or are you joking?"

"Wait and see!" he said, nudging her.

At the end of the street, he pulled her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back into his chest as they watched the fireworks.

"You know what," she said.  "They keep on trying to split us up, but they never ever will."

Again, his senses tingled.  Something was coming.  Something very…very bad.

"Never say never ever," he said quietly.  He kept his eyes trained on the sky, pushing out his senses to try to ascertain what was wrong as she shivered in his arms.

"What is it, Doctor?" she asked.

"Something in the air," he said.  "Something coming."

"What?"

"A storm’s approaching," he said, watching in his mind as the timelines knotted together around something catastrophic, something that would test them both…something that might rip her away from him.

Rose turned her head and stared up at him, trying to keep her breathing steady.  “Then we’ll weather it together,” she said.

He looked down at her, his eyes dark, his face impassive.  For a moment, he looked every inch the torn, ancient Time Lord that he was.  Then his lips twitched ever so slightly, and his face softened before he leaned his head down to kiss her.

Canary Wharf and the sterile looking Rift Chamber loomed around the corner for them.  The last battle, the end of her war against Time.  Soon, she would be free to dance with the Doctor forever…or fade away completely.


	65. Closing Walls and Ticking Clocks

_Seventeen days before the battle…_

The Doctor looked at Rose carefully while she was distracted with her photo album.  She had changed so much since he’d met her.  Gone was the soft, overly made up, slightly messy Estate girl with an addiction to peroxide.  Her body was firm and lean, her makeup subtle.  She never dressed up, but she always looked…put together, somehow, even if she was still in jeans.  Her hair, still blonde, had softened from the overly bleached look with dark roots to something softer, more natural…something she’d found on an alien planet months ago, apparently.  The way she moved, the way she talked, even her mannerisms spoke of someone who was more confident, more aware of her own abilities, more mature.  It had happened so gradually that he’d barely noticed.  She was still Rose…but…somehow more so.

Except for the past couple of weeks.  Now, most days, her hair hung lank around her face.  Her cheeks had a slightly sunken quality to them after days of having no appetite.  Her eyes were developing dark circles that almost looked like bruises from nights of failed sleep, and were losing the sparkle he adored.

It had started before the Olympics, but gotten far worse afterwards.  Her good days were becoming less frequent, and she was becoming erratic, seeming torn between hiding away somewhere and spending every moment at his side.  There were times she’d spend hours squirrelled away, insisting she was alright if he managed to find her and ask, then other times when he might step away, and she’d look up with an almost panicked look in her eyes.  He couldn’t understand it.  She’d never acted like this before.

Except…

Except she had.  Once.  A lifetime ago.  Before the GameStation.  Before it had all gone to hell.  Before he betrayed her for the first time, and Jack for the last.  Before she risked her life for him, and he’d died for her.  She’d behaved similarly then, though to a lesser extent.

And there was a storm coming.  What could she possibly know that he didn’t?

Then she looked up at him and smiled, a smile so honest and open and bright and fundamentally Rose that he couldn’t help but beam back at her before dragging her to the console room and heading for Medrulgia 7 to swim with the mermaids there.

But it didn’t slide away this time…it was tucked away in a corner to fester and be reexamined later as the safeguards he himself had erected buckled a little more.

oOoOo

_Fourteen days before the battle…_

Rose ran through the corridors, chest heaving and muscles screaming.  She could still see the Rift Chamber, still see the Doctor’s face as he screamed her name while she fell, still feel her father’s arms around her as she was ripped away from the life she treasured and stolen away into one she abhorred.  She could still feel the stubborn solidity of the wall that separated them.  Just a hair’s breadth away, but far, far too distant.

The nightmares came every night now.  It was just a matter of which one.  Sometimes it was the Rift Chamber, sometimes it was the beach, sometimes it was watching everyone she loved turn away as they forgot her…and sometimes it was a cold, furious Time Lord, looking down at her with a level of hatred and disdain that was usually reserved for only the lowest of his enemies.

 The moment he’d said a storm was coming, she felt something break.  They both pulled away from each other in their fear—him of the unknown, her because she knew too much.  All she wanted was for him to wrap his arms around her and tell her it would be alright, but neither of them could say that with any real assurance.  She knew it might only be days that she had left with him, and hated the gap, wishing for her ignorance back, so that she could run to him and believe the lies, believe they could be safe forever.

She turned a corner into a dead end and spun, but her momentum was gone and the pain caught up.  She slid down the wall as her gasps gave way to sobs, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself.

Days without real sleep finally caught up with her, so she wasn’t aware when the tears stopped and darkness fell.  She didn’t see the Doctor standing over her, watching her sadly.  She didn’t feel it when he gently picked her up and carried her away, tucking her under a rich blue duvet under a burnt orange sky.

oOoOo

_Thirteen days before the battle…_

She watched as they hovered around each other, both too afraid to breach the distance, but terrified of letting go.  The Wolf and the Thief were falling apart, collapsing in on themselves, neither able to tell the other of their fears.  The Wolf woke every time she slept, and the Thief had stopped trying to sleep altogether.  And yet they both tried so hard, with such heartbreaking tenacity, to act as if nothing had changed, as if they were alright…because they were always alright.  Each stood strong for the other even as each found it harder to breathe.

And the Thief, whether because of the gap or in a subconscious desire to widen it, was dwelling on things that should not be recognized, not be noted, and certainly not be dissected and probed and journaled.  The safeguards were failing, and another storm approached, one just as threatening as the one that had him so afraid.

oOoOo

_Eleven days before the battle…_

_New Earth and the lockdown (when did I mention the crescent moon?)_

_The school, Sarah Jane_

_Scotland…caught between a lethal monk and a wall, and just a bump on the head?_

The Doctor stared down at the list.  It went on and on.  It had started just with the oddities since he regenerated.  He was worried it might have something to do with the Vortex.  Some lingering piece maybe giving her strength…but killing her slowly.  But no, it had all started before that.  Almost from the first moment.  The way she’d changed when she’d stepped into the TARDIS, so long ago…

Add in the fact that he’d suddenly become acutely aware of her timelines again while he attempted to determine the nature of the event they were hurtling towards.  He’d long ago found a way to ignore the knots and loops in her timelines…except now, they coincided with the coming storm.  Everything she did led her there, which was disquieting.  What was truly alarming, though…was that he couldn’t see past it.  It wasn’t that she died, necessarily…he’d see that.  But everything past that point was foggy, blurred in a way he’d never encountered.

Most unnerving was the fact that the more he tried to think about this all, the harder it became to keep his thoughts together.  Before, he hadn’t noticed how easily he was distracted, how quickly he dismissed these peculiarities.  Now that he was making a concentrated effort to focus, it was almost painful, the effort it took.

Something was hiding her from him, affecting the way he thought about her.  Maybe even affecting the way he felt about her.

There’s been…something…before, before the GameStation…this had been brought up before, because the strangeness that surrounded her had been around as long as she had.  But somehow, it had been resolved.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember how.  He just remembered a growing list somewhere in the back of his mind, and then it was gone. Everything was fine.  And it stayed fine for a long time.  He brushed it all off, until lately…and he couldn’t figure out _why._

Something about Rose was wrong.  She was keeping something huge from him, and somehow, his own mind was rebelling against acknowledging it.  There were two possibilities, from where he stood.  Either her secrets involved her doing something incredibly dangerous that could potentially harm her, maybe kill her, and she was taking away his ability to protect her—or she was not at all what she claimed to be, just another gilded lie, bent on manipulation for her own nefarious means.  So…either she was killing herself, or trying to destroy him.  He honestly wasn’t sure which was worse, because either one would end up annihilating them both.

oOoOo

_Nine days before the battle…_

Rose stared into the middle distance from where she sat in the captain’s seat while the Doctor worked on the console.  She needed to be near him, but had nothing to say.  He seemed to feel the same way.  Every day had become excruciating.  She had a terrible feeling that if this kept up, one or both of them would break before they even got to Canary Wharf.

“Rose,” he said suddenly.  “I need you to tell me what happened on New Earth.”

“What?” she asked, confused at the randomness of the question.  “What d’you mean?  The cat-nuns—“

“No, not the cat nuns,” he said, turning slowly and burying his hands in his pockets and looking at her with a guarded expression.  “What happened to you?”

“I told you, the TARDIS—“

“The TARDIS can’t do that,” he interjected.  “Not what you’re talking about.  So how did you manage it?”

“I dunno,” she said with a shrug, looking away.  “Guess I’m just stronger than the average human.”

“That was never up for debate,” he assured her.  “However, a human shouldn’t have been able to do that at all.  Shouldn’t be able to do a lot of things that you seem to be able to.”

Her eyes snapped up to his, and she watched him warily.  He shouldn’t be doing this.  They shouldn’t be talking about this.  He couldn’t dig like this, or it would all fall apart.

“I’m just too good,” she said, forcing a smile, but he just arched an eyebrow and the smile melted off her face.

“Rose, something is…going on with you,” he said slowly.  “The Vortex may have had a more lasting impression on you than I originally assumed.  But your mind isn’t supposed to work like this.  Any remnant could be killing you slowly.  If you let me into your mind, I can make sure that everything is alright, that there isn’t permanent damage being done.”

“No,” she said, jumping to her feet and taking a step away as he took a step forward.

“Sorry?” he asked, sounding surprised.  If he looked in her mind now, he’d see what she was hiding, he’d know what she was doing, and she wouldn’t be able to stop it.

“You can’t go into my mind,” she said, back up another step.

“Rose, what are you hiding?” he asked, dropping all pretense.  “What is it?”

“I can’t—“

“ _Why not?_ ” he asked in a dark, deliberate tone, his eyes flashing.  “Because the way I figure it, you’re either doing something that’s going to hurt you, or you’re doing something in an effort to hurt me.  So which is it?  Which of us are you trying to destroy?  Hmm?”

 “Please, Doctor…it’s not what you think,” she said, pleading with him.

“Not what I think?” he said, taking a step back and raising his eyebrows.  “I don’t even know _what_ to think.  What I _know_ is that you’re doing something harmful, and you’re manipulating me into allowing it.  And it stops, right now.”

It was so reminiscent of the first fight, but so, so much worse.  It wasn’t the blue eyes that could blaze into hers, it was the brown that looked like melted chocolate after he kissed her.  It wasn’t the harsh, Northern accent…it was the manically cheerful, estuary accent that he’d used to tell her he loved her.  This wasn’t the hard, guarded soldier…this was the man who had let down his walls, let her in, and showed so much tenderness that it took her breath away.

 “Please, believe me,” she said, looking down as tears started gathering in her eyes.  “I’m not…trying to hurt anyone.  I promise you.  Please, if you love me, please let this go.”

He reeled back as if she’d slapped him, his eyes wide.  He stared at her for a moment in complete shock before composing himself.

“Well, that makes things…incredibly simple,” he said softly, his face suddenly impassive.  “Should’ve known.  You always were just a bit too good to be true.  Better late than never, I suppose,” he added, turning to the console.

Rose watched him, her heart breaking.  They were so close.  He couldn’t do this to her now.  Not now.  Not after everything.  She knew, as soon as the words left her mouth, that it was a mistake.  He was still too terrified of his own feelings, of how they could be used against him.  She wasn’t trying to use his love for her against him, simply remind him that there were bigger things, more worthwhile things to think about.  But he’d been on the edge already, torn between suspicion and protectiveness, and that had pushed him over.

“Doctor,” she said, her voice breaking.

“Don’t,” he said, his voice still soft.  “Just…don’t.  I don’t want any more lies.  I’m taking you home.”

She stared at him, and suddenly couldn’t breathe.

“I can’t do this,” she sobbed suddenly.  “Not again.”

She spun on her heel and took off, running as far and as fast as she could.

oOoOo

She spun through the Vortex, dancing through time and space but refusing to leave, refusing to land.  He hit Her with mallets, and cursed Her in every language in the universe, but still She twirled, ignoring his fury.  When he gave that up to find the Wolf, seeking out the exact nature of her betrayal, her plans for him, She protected her, blocking his way and moving corridors.  The Wolf was too wounded, and the Thief too angry.  It was his love that made him bleed, but he wouldn’t acknowledge this yet, his rage still so paramount.  The Thief needed time to remember who she was, why it hurt, and how to forgive.

She would not allow him to give up, not when they were so close to forever.

oOoOo

_Seven days before the battle…_

The Doctor still couldn’t land, and _still_ couldn’t find Rose.  The TARDIS was refusing to behave, somehow conspiring against him with the traitor…and he was sinking further into despair.

Why her?  Of all the beings in all the universe…why did it have to be her?  Why couldn’t he have one thing in his extended existence that didn’t come with a price tag of immeasurable pain?

He sank into the captain’s seat in the console room wearily, his thoughts flooded with Rose.  His anger had cooled to a dull throb, and the grief was overtaking it.  He had lost her, in a way he’d never imagined.  He still had no idea what the point had been, because he couldn’t even find the girl now.  But in that moment that she used his love as a weapon, he knew.

The TARDIS nudged him, as she’d been doing for days since the argument, but he ignored it again.  His own ship had sided with the enemy.  He had nothing left.

Maybe that was the point.  She’d had plenty of time to hurt him, but hadn’t.  Instead, she’d given him everything.  She’d breathed life back into him, gave him a reason to go on beyond mere survival.  She’d given him something to believe in again, healed his desiccated soul…only to rip it all away, leaving him even more wounded than he’d been before, because this time no part of him had been safe…she’d taken away his armor so that she could stab him that much more easily in the back.

_STOP IT, TIME LORD!_

He almost fell out of his seat, the intensity of the thought almost causing him physical pain.  And it wasn’t just the TARDIS…it echoed with his own long lost northern accent. He jumped to his feet when a hologram of his old leather clad self popped up next to him, looking directly at him with an intense look in his blue eyes.

“If you’re seeing this, that means Rose has done something really odd—or, more likely, several somethings that you’re just now trying to add up and sort out—and for one reason or another, you just can’t let it go,” the hologram said.  The Doctor stared at it.  When had he made this?  “Now don’t go trying to remember recording this, because you can’t.  That’s been taken away, and for a good reason.  Look, I know this is going to be tough for you, but you’re going to have to trust her, and trust the TARDIS.  Rose’s got a secret, but it’s not a bad one.  She’s not out to hurt you or anyone else.”  The hologram’s expression turned to one of pleased bemusement.  “Trust me, she’s fantastic.” Then he turned serious again.  “But for now, her secret has to stay just that—hers.  Whatever has you confused, and by now it’s probably a lot, you’re just going to have to let it go for now.  Stop digging.  You’ll only make it worse.  You’ll know what it all means when the time is right.”  With that, the hologram faded, leaving the Doctor standing in stunned silence.

The Doctor sucked in a shuddering breath.  What the hell was going on?  What had his past self known that was dangerous enough to hide from him in the future?  Not only was she lying to him, but she had him lying to himself.

_Not lying_ , the TARDIS sang.  _Just hiding.  It is not time yet._

Well that was…remarkably unhelpful.  The other him had acted like…whatever it was…was a good thing.  But if it was so good, why the deception?  Why was it being kept from him?

_You will understand when the time is right,_ the TARDIS repeated.

“Again, not helpful,” he growled.

Alright, well, if it was so detrimental to know, why had she told him in the first place?  Obviously, he’d suppressed something, which would explain…quite a lot, really, including the fact that it was so hard to actually focus on this.  But why hadn’t she simply kept it to herself?

_You wouldn’t let her,_ the TARDIS sang.  _But you must now._

He’d pushed her to reveal…whatever it was.  But then he’d trusted her enough to forget.  He scrubbed a hand down his face, his mind still churning in confusion.

_Rose Tyler had been with you for nearly two Earth years,_ the TARDIS reminded him.  _Had she meant to hurt you, she would have had ample opportunity long before now.  She risked herself to save you more than once, just as you have done for her._

That…was true.  She could have simply stayed in London when he sent her away before and let him die on the Satellite Five, but she hadn’t.  And not for herself, not for a plan to succeed.  Because she wanted him safe.

He made a growling noise of frustration, thrusting his hands through his hair as he started pacing.  The anger and grief had taken a backseat to confusion, and were now eclipsed completely by an intense longing that joined the emotional maelstrom.  He wanted to let it go.  He wanted to trust her.  He wanted to not be afraid of her.  But she had still lied, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was still dangerous.

_The only thing she decisively lied about was talking to Ida Scott on the impossible planet_ , sang the TARDIS, and he froze.

_She talked to Ida?_ He asked, a chill in his veins.  _Why…why didn’t she tell me that?_

_Because she was protecting you from your own panic and pain_ , the TARDIS hummed gently.

He fell into the captain’s seat.  Damn her.  That was so…completely her.  To deny hearing something that had brought her to tears when he’d finally had to courage to say it to her face simply to save him from his own terror of it was just so…typical Rose Tyler.  He was arguably one of the most powerful beings in the universe, and his tiny little human had been protecting _him_.  Again.

_And yet you still have doubts as to why she is hiding things from you?_ the TARDIS sang, managing to sound sly.

She loved him.  She’d said so, _months_ before he’d been able to, during an argument and a moment that he deserved her least.  And his previous self had trusted her, even before the GameStation, before she’d risked everything for him, enough to suppress his own memories, to place mental blocks in an effort to keep… _this_ from happening.  To protect him from the knowledge, and to keep him from seeking it out.

_Is she safe?_ He asked finally.

_For your meaning…yes,_ the TARDIS sang. 

_And she’s still…her?_ He asked hesitantly, not entirely sure even what he meant by it.  He needed to know that this…secret didn’t fundamentally change who he knew her to be, who he’d fallen in love with.

_She will always be Rose Tyler,_ the ship hummed.  _The girl who stole your scarred hearts, and would fight the entire universe to keep them from breaking again._

_I’m going to lose her,_ he thought painfully.  _If I haven’t already, I will…soon._

_There is no certainty for anything,_ the TARDIS sang mournfully.

“There’s a storm coming,” he murmured.

_There will always be storms,_ sang the TARDIS.  _But for now, there is also a Rose.  One who needs you as much as you need her._

The TARDIS flashed an image in his mind of Rose curled up in his bed, crying into his pillow.  He gave up, sprinting down the corridor before the image even had a chance to fade.

oOoOo

Rose woke from a nightmare, not surprised at all that it was the one of the Doctor booting her out of the TARDIS, despite the fact that it had been days since the argument, since she’d even caught sight of him.  She wanted to run, but she was just so _tired_.  She’d tried sleeping in his room, since he had apparently given up sleep completely, just to feel like he was close, but the nightmares had still come.  She sobbed into his pillow, wishing this was over.  Whatever the outcome, it had to be better than _this_

She wasn’t aware that he was there until she felt the mattress sink behind her, and felt his arms around her.  She froze, wondering if he was going to forcibly pull her out of the ship, but he simply held her, and, after a moment, she relaxed into it.

“Doctor,” she whimpered.

“I’m right here, love,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to her hair.

“I swear, I never meant to hurt you,” she said through her tears.  “I never would—“

“Shh, I know,” he said, pulling her closer.  “I know that.  I should have seen that straight off.  If you haven’t noticed, I can be a bit thick sometimes.”

She couldn’t help the laugh that burst from her lips.  “A bit,” she agreed.  She paused, trying to understand the change in him from the last time she’d seen him.  “You’re not angry anymore?”

“No, Rose,” he said with a sigh.  “Just…scared.  Really, really scared.”

“Me too,” she whispered.  “What happened?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said.  “Not right now.  Right now, all that matters is that I have you exactly where you need to be.”

She turned in his arms until she was facing him.  “What now?”

“Well,” he said, reaching up a hand to brush a few hairs out of her face.  “Tomorrow, I’m going to take you somewhere magnificent.  And we’re going to smile, and we’re going to laugh, and we’re going to run.  Because I have no idea how long we have left, but I’m not wasting another second of it being confused or angry.  Does that sound like a plan to you?”

She smiled a little at him.  “Yeah, that sounds like a plan.  But why wait?”

A flicker of pain crossed his features, and his thumb brushed the skin under one of her eyes.  “Because we both need sleep.  Badly.”  She bit her lip to keep the tears from coming again, and moved to get up and go to her own room, but he stilled her with a hand on her waist.  “Nope, not even going to try that,” he said softly.  “Never works.  Just close your eyes, Rose.  I’ll fight your demons if you’ll fight mine.”

“I can do that,” she said, snuggling closer and breathing in the scent of cinnamon and Time and something indefinably him.  In minutes she was drifting, and the last thing she was aware of was him whispering that he loved her.  It was the single best lullaby she’d ever heard.

oOoOo

_Five days before the battle…_

She landed on the rocky terrain of Azdaja as the flying creatures hovered overhead.  The Thief kissed the Wolf before dancing her outside.  They smiled, and laughed, and ran, just as he had promised her.  They had given each other the rest they could never find on their own, and eased each other’s fears simply by admitting their own.  They were both still scared, terrified of what was to come, but determined now to have whatever they could before then.

The battle was nearly upon them, the war nearly won.  Somewhere in Her Heart, a wolf howled, a song for time once lost, for time rewritten.  None could be sure of what was to come, what sacrifices and losses were to be born.  Their names were written in the stars…they just had to be strong enough to withstand the storm.


	66. Army of Ghosts

"I can carry that, you know," Rose said as the Doctor swung her overstuffed bag onto his shoulder with ease.

"I know you _can_ ,” the Doctor said, lacing his fingers through hers and bringing her hand up to kiss it lightly.  “But after what happened the _last_ time we saw your mum, something tells me she’d slap me for making you carry it yourself.  Then again, she might still slap me for being chauvinistic and thinking women can’t handle themselves,” he mused as they walked away from the TARDIS.

Rose laughed, thinking of the awkward moment involving her and the Doctor snogging each other senseless in the kitchen of her mum’s flat.  “Yeah, I dunno that you’re ever gonna completely win with her.”

"Probably not," the Doctor said.  "But that’s alright.  Long as visits stay short and sweet."  He looked down to see a shadow cross Rose’s features.  "What is it?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, shaking herself and smiling brightly.  "C’mon, loads of washing to do."

They made their way to Jackie’s flat, and the Doctor chanced another look down at her.  The past few days had done wonders for her.  She had a bit of color back, and her eyes had lost most of the dark circles around them.  The latter was due, he knew, to the fact that anytime she went to sleep, he stayed with her, keeping her nightmares at bay.  They hadn’t completely abated, but even he could tell they weren’t as severe, and she calmed down easier when she woke up next to him, enough that she was able to get back to sleep.  But it wasn’t over.  There were still moments where her features took on a haunted look…they were both still so afraid of the storm.  But he had kept to his resolve…until it came, until whatever it was that threatened to take her away was upon them, he was going to enjoy every moment he could with her.  Even if it just meant swinging their laced hands between them and chatting about absolutely nothing on their way to visit her mum.

They eventually stepped into the flat to receive happy hugs from the elder Tyler woman.  Even the Doctor got hugs…and a kiss, much to his chagrin.  Jackie Tyler was as impossible to pin down as her daughter, apparently.

"Got loads of washing for you," Rose told Jackie cheerfully.  "And - I got you this!" she said, holding up a trinket.  "It’s from the market on this asteroid bazaar. It’s made of bezoolium. When it gets cold, yeah, it means it’s gonna rain, when it’s hot, it’s gonna be sunny! You can use it to tell the weather!"

"I’ve got a surprise for you and all," Jackie said with a smile.

"Oh, I get her bezoolium, she doesn’t even say ‘thanks’," Rose said.

"Guess who’s coming to visit?" Jackie asked, and Rose’s grip on the tiny trinket tightened. "You’re just in time - he’ll be here at ten past! Who do you think it is?"

"I dunno."

"Oh go on, guess!"

"No, I hate guessing," she said, more harshly than she meant to as dread washed over her.  "Just tell me."

"It’s your grandad," Jackie said happily.  "Grandad Prentice. He’s on his way. Any minute!  Right, cup of tea!" she added, turning away and going into the kitchen.

Rose felt the blood drain from her face as she dropped the bezoolium on the floor.  She swayed slightly as her chest tightened.

"Rose?" the Doctor said in a concerned voice, stepping up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.  "Rose, what is it?"

"Grandad Prentice," she said hoarsely.  "That’s her dad. But he died like, ten years ago."  She saw him glance at the door her mother had just passed through before looking back down at her, his face now truly alarmed.  She took his hand and walked slowly to the kitchen.

"Mum?" she called. "What you just said about grandad—“

"Any second now," Jackie said with a smile.

"But…he passed away," Rose said.  "His heart gave out."

"Yeah, I know," Jackie said, and Rose felt the Doctor’s hand tighten around hers.

"Then how can he come back?" she asked.

"Why don’t you ask him yourself?" Jackie asked, checking her watch.  "Ten past. Here he comes."

Rose shrank back against the Doctor as the shadowy, blurred figure materialized in the kitchen.  It was humanoid, but wasn’t human…Rose wanted to scream at her mother to step away as it stood next to her.

"Here we are, then!" Jackie said happily.  "Dad…say hello to Rose. Ain’t she grown?"

"Rose, come on," the Doctor said low in her ear, pulling her toward the door.

Rose looked up at him.  The only thing she wanted to do right now was sprint away to the TARDIS, dragging him behind her, and flying off to anywhere else.

_No._

She’d come this far.  She would finish this.  She was going to send them back to hell, and no one was ripping her away from the Doctor.  Not this time.  She wouldn’t allow it.  She felt waves of reassurance from the TARDIS bolstering her resolve as the took off down the stairs.  They burst out a side door of the flats at a run, then skidded to a halt when they looked around.

"They’re everywhere!" the Doctor shouted, confused.

There were ghosts standing around, people milling around them, children playing, as if this was all completely ordinary.  Rose turned to the Doctor to see one of them walking up behind him.

"Doctor, look out!"

The ghost walked through the Doctor, and he made an uncomfortable noise but was otherwise unharmed.  For now.

"They haven’t got long," Jackie said, joining them.  "Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They’re about to fade."

"What do you mean, SHIFT?" the Doctor demanded.  "Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What’s going on?"

"Oh, he’s not happy when I know more than him, is he?" Jackie said with contempt.

"It’s not that, Mum," Rose said quickly, looking around.  "This is…wrong."

"No one’s running or screaming or freaking out or—“

"Why should we?" Jackie asked, cutting him off.  "Here we go. Twelve minutes past."

The ghosts disappeared as suddenly as they came.  Rose saw the Doctor look around, even more confused than he was to begin with.  Eventually, he turned and jogged away, Rose and Jackie following him more slowly back to the flat.

The Doctor threw his coat off and sat down in front of the television, flipping through channels rapidly while Rose sat quietly on the sofa with her mother.  Surprisingly enough, now that it was actually here, apart from a brief moment when she had first realized what was happening, she hadn’t panicked.  She’d used up all her panic in the past few weeks.  Now she was simply determined…and a little bit angry.  Good combination.

"It’s all over the world," he said finally, switching the television off when a ghost made an appearance on _Eastenders._   “When did it start?”

"Well first of all, Peggy heard this noise in the cellar," Jackie said, and Rose shook her head. "So she goes down—“

"No, I mean worldwide," the Doctor clarified with an eyeroll.

"Oh! That was about two months ago," Jackie said.  "Not long after your last…visit," she added with a grimace, making Rose and the Doctor wince.  "Just happened. Woke up one morning, and there they all were—ghosts, everywhere. We all ran round screaming and that, whole planet was panicking…no sign of YOU, thank you very much…then it sort of sank in. Took us time to realize that…we’re lucky."

"What makes you think it’s grandad?" Rose asked quietly.

"Just feels like him," Jackie said with a shrug.  "There’s that smell, those old cigarettes. Can’t you smell it?"

"No, mum, I can’t," she said gently.

"You’ve got to make an effort," Jackie insisted.  "You’ve got to _want_ it, sweetheart.”

"The more you want it, the stronger it gets?" the Doctor asked.

"Sort of, yeah," Jackie said reluctantly.

"Like a psychic link," he explained.  "Course you want your old dad to be alive, but you’re wishing him into existence. The ghosts are using that to pull themselves in."

"You’re spoiling it," Jackie said unhappily.

"I’m sorry, Jackie," he said gently.  "But there’s no smell, there’s no cigarettes. Just a memory."

"But if they’re not ghosts, what are they, then?" Rose asked.

"They’re human!" Jackie cried.  "You can see them—they look human!"

"Lots of things look human," Rose said, earning a dark look from her mother and a thoughtful one from the Doctor.  "They’re not even a proper shape, all blurred and shadowy."

"They’re pressing themselves into the surface of the world," the Doctor said.  "But a footprint doesn’t look like a boot," he added, standing up. 

Jackie opened her mouth to say something else, but Rose shushed her.  Wasn’t worth the fight right now.

"Do me a favor, Rose, see if you can dig up any…real, non- _Eastenders_ related information about this,” he said, shrugging into his coat.

"What’re you gonna do?" she asked.

"Going back to the TARDIS," he said, moving towards the door.  "See if I can work out a way to trace these things back to where they came from.  Find me there in…oh, twenty minutes?"

"Okay," she said, nodding as she walked him to the door.  He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before walking out.  She took a deep breath and turned back inside.

"Why’s it have to be bad just ‘cause you two are here?" Jackie asked.

"It was bad before we got here," Rose said, moving to the computer.  "Now it’s just worse."

oOoOo

"According to the paper, they’ve elected a ghost as MP for Leeds," Rose said as she stepped back into the TARDIS.  She couldn’t see the Doctor, but she could see the grating pulled up on part of the floor.  She walked over to it and peered down at him.  "Now don’t tell me you’re gonna sit back and do nothing."

The Doctor popped up as the tune to Ghostbusters started up, dancing along wearing a rucksack and holding some sort of device in his hands.

"Who’re you gonna call?" he shouted.

"Ghostbusters!" she called back with a laugh.

"I ain’t afraid of no ghosts," he added before darting out of the TARDIS.  Rose rolled her eyes and followed him out.

"When’s the next shift?" he asked as he arranged three cones in a triangle.

"Quarter to," Jackie replied, checking her watch.  "But don’t go causing trouble. What’s that lot do?"

"Triangulates their point of origin," he said, not looking up.

"How’re they doing it, though?" Rose asked thoughtfully.  "I mean, the Gelth were coming through the Rift, right?  This lots all over the world."

"Coming from somewhere else, transposing themselves over the whole planet," the Doctor said. "Like tracing paper."

"You’re always doing this," Jackie complained.  "Reducing it to science. Why can’t it be real?"

"Mum, it was never real," Rose said softly.  "It never could be.  This isn’t supposed to happen."

"Just think of it, though," Jackie said.  "All the people we’ve lost - our families coming back home. Don’t you think it’s beautiful?"

"I think it’s horrific," the Doctor said, pausing in his work to look at her. "Rose, give us a hand," he said, resuming his task.

He started unwinding a cable and leading it back into the TARDIS as Rose followed.  He ran up to the console and plugged it in.  Rose looked up as Jackie joined them in the TARDIS, debating whether or not to tell her to just leave.  But…if she didn’t come…she wouldn’t meet Pete.  She had to meet Pete.  She had to have something.

"As soon as it becomes activated, if that line goes into the red, press that button there," the Doctor explained quickly, pulling Rose back to the moment.  "If it doesn’t stop, setting 15B, hold it against the port, eight seconds and stop," he said, waving the sonic screwdriver in front of her nose, making her go cross-eyed.

"15B, eight seconds," she confirmed taking it from him.

"If it goes into the blue, activate the deep scan on the left," he said.

"Hang on a minute, I know…" She examined the buttons for a moment, then pointed to one with a teasing smile.  "This one?"

"Only if you want us dead," he said and she giggled.

"That one," she said, confidently.

"Yeah!" he said excitedly.  "Now, what’ve we got? Two minutes to go?" he asked, looking over at Jackie, who checked her watch and nodded.  "Right, watch the line,” he said quickly and ran out the door.

She held the sonic to the port, and alternated between watching the line and watching the Doctor working outside.

"What’s the line doing?" he shouted through the doors.

"It’s all right, it’s holding!" she yelled back.  She looked over when she felt eyes on her to see Jackie watching her speculatively.

"You even look like him," Jackie said quietly.

"How d’you mean?" Rose asked evasively.  She didn’t want to relive this conversation with her mother.

"You’ve just changed so much," Jackie said.

"For the better," she replied.

"I s’pose," Jackie said, but sounded doubtful.

"Mum, I used to work in a _shop_ ,” Rose told her, turning around.

"I’ve worked in shops," Jackie said.  "What’s wrong with that?"

"No, I didn’t mean that," Rose amended quickly.

"I know what you meant," Jackie said.  "What happens when I’m gone?"

Rose considered her.  If things went the way they were supposed to today, she would be gone, and Rose would never see her again.  The fact that she would be alive and well was of little to no consequence.  What would she do?  Her mum was the only reason she kept coming back…even Shereen and the others had fallen by the wayside.

"Mum, what do you want for me?" she asked, her head tilted.  "I mean, what do you really want for your daughter?"

"I want you to be happy," Jackie said promptly.

"But I am happy," Rose said.  "Being with the Doctor, I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my whole life."

"But won’t you ever settle down?" Jackie asked hopelessly.

“Mum, think about it…could you really see me being happy with a house, and a car, and some…I dunno, temp job or something?” she asked.  “None of that…none of that would mean anything without him.  The life I have now…I get to travel to places that are more than I ever imagined, see things that were lost and forgotten centuries, _millennia_ ago, and sometimes, if I’m really lucky, I get to save the world, all with the man who loves me.  How could I give that up?”

"But what happens when you start growing old and he has to leave you behind because you can’t run anymore?" Jackie asked.  "What then?  Sooner or later he’s gonna move on, sweetheart, and you’re gonna be the one left alone, this old woman who’s got nothing left but memories and bitterness."

Rose wanted to tell her it would never come to that, but knew she couldn’t.  That didn’t change the fact that she’d either she’d never grow old, or, for all intents and purposes, be dead by tonight.

"Here we go!" the Doctor’s voice shouted from outside, breaking the tense moment.

"The scanner’s working," Rose shouted back.  "It says ‘delta one six’."

Rose watched through the monitor as the Doctor trapped the ghost and tried to triangulate its origin.  Jackie wandered off to sit on her own.  Rose wished there was more she could say to her, but she just couldn’t.  Finally, the ghost shift was halted, and the Doctor collected his equipment and ran back into the TARDIS.

"I said so!" he shouted as he threw his coat over a coral strut.  "Those ghosts have been FORCED into existence from one specific point! And I can track down the source. Allons-Y!"

He pulled on a lever, and the whole TARDIS shuddered, driving them back into the captain’s seat.  The time rotor wheezed to life.  The Doctor quickly pulled himself up and darted to the console.

"I like that. ‘Allons-y’," he said, testing it out.  "I should say ‘allons-y’ more often. ‘Allons-y’. Watch out, Rose Tyler! Allons-y! And THEN, it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonzo. Because then I could say, ‘allons-y, Alonzo’! Every time! You’re staring at me."

Rose was looking at him with a sort of twisted smile.  “My mum’s still on board.”

The Doctor shifted his gaze and spotted Jackie sitting up in the gantries.  “If we end up on Mars, I’m gonna kill you.”

The Doctor looked back at Rose with a horrified expression, and she smirked.  Then he shook his head and arched an eyebrow and muttered something that sounded oddly like “Dante’s forgotten level of hell.”  He turned to the monitor as the TARDIS began materializing.

"Rose…" he said in a concerned voice, and she looked over his shoulder before gesturing to Jackie to come back down and join them.

"Oh, well there goes the advantage of surprise," the Doctor said.  He paused, casting a sideways glance at her before making for the door.  "Still! Cuts to the chase. Stay in here, look after Jackie."

"You want me to stay here and look out for my mum while you go out there into god knows what?" Rose burst out, following him.

“You brought her,” he reminded her flippantly.

“I was kidnapped!” Jackie protested.

"Doctor, please don’t," Rose said, moving past him to block the doorway.  He watched her, looking torn.  "They expected us.  They expected _you._   And they’ve got guns.”

"And I haven’t. Which makes me the better person, don’t you think?" he asked after moment, shaking himself before catching her around the waist and pulling her out of the way.  "They can shoot me dead, but the moral high-ground is mine."

He looked down at her intensely for a moment, then moved again to open the door, but Rose grabbed his lapels and pulled him down hard.  She couldn’t even be completely sure with what was about to happen that she’d see him again at all, and even if she did, it might not be for long.  She wasn’t missing any chances.  He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as he kissed her back, seeming for a second almost as desperate as her.

"I love you," he whispered, then turned and walked out the door without another look back.

Rose moved to the cracked door with Jackie to watch the encounter.  She saw him shift from wary confusion to puzzled enjoyment as Yvonne and her lackeys applauded his very existence, and nearly gagged.  He stiffened, though, when she mentioned his companion.

"There’s no point hiding anything," Yvonne said, her voice taking on a slightly sinister quality. "Not from us.  So where is she?"

"Yes! Sorry," the Doctor said quickly.  "Good point. She’s just a bit shy, that’s all."  He pushed at the crack and reached an arm in, feeling around and pulling out Jackie.  "But here she is: Rose Tyler. Hmm. She’s NOT the best I’ve ever had," he said, eyeing her.  "Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. A lot of that," he added, miming chattering.  "And just last week, she stared into the heart of the Time Vortex and aged fifty-seven years.  But she’ll do."

"I’m 40!" Jackie protested as Rose snorted quietly and shook her head.  Never a wasted opportunity for a crack at her mother.  Nine hundred years old and still refused to grow up.

"Deluded," he said.  "Bless. I’ll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She’s very good at tea. Well, I say ‘very good’, I mean ‘not bad’. Well. I say ‘not bad’… anyway! Lead on. But not too fast. Her ankle’s going."

"I’ll show you where my ankle’s going," Jackie snapped at him as they moved off.

Rose moved to the monitor and watched them walk away, chewing on her lip as she considered her options.  The good news was that as far as she knew, this building was a mirror copy of the one she had worked at for several years before coming back, so she knew her way around.  The bad news was she really didn’t want to go to either of the places that were of any real consequence right now.  The Doctor, she knew, would end up in the Rift Chamber.  She had gone to the Sphere Chamber.  She moved to the doors again when the TARDIS started shaking, opening them carefully.  She caught sight of the Doctor, who nodded surreptitiously at her.

Okay.  She could do this.  She moved quickly over to his coat and fished around for the psychic paper, putting it into her pocket as the TARDIS came to a halt.  She waited few minutes, thinking hard and pacing.  What would happen if she just went directly to the Rift Chamber?  Well…she couldn’t really explain that one to the Doctor, could she?  Plus…there was that scientist, Rajesh…and Mickey.  Mickey was down there, and if she wasn’t there, he might be killed immediately.

“Bollocks,” she muttered.  She hated the moments that hinged on a particular choice, regardless of how much she didn’t want to do it again.  But…if she could just get through today somehow…then she wouldn’t have to constantly be second guessing herself like this anymore.  And she _had_ to get through today.  For now, that meant sticking to the old script.  She stepped up to the door and opened it a crack, making sure there were no guards immediately outside, then slipped silently out of the TARDIS.

_Good luck, my Wolf_ , the TARDIS sang as she crept away, stopping to grab a lab coat before making off down the hall.  At least she didn’t need to stalk anyone to find her way this time.

oOoOo

The Doctor stood in front of the Void Ship wearing his 3D specs while the others talked in a buzz behind him.  The sense of unease that had grown when Yvonne Hartman had shown off her alien tech was now at a stage of alarm bordering on panic.  What had been a bizarre and incredibly wrong situation was quickly escalating into something catastrophic, and they didn’t even know.  He took in the greenish specs floating around the ship and shivered lightly.  The timelines knotted and twisted around this place.  Now he was getting an idea why.

The storm was brewing.  Their time had run out.  But whatever was here was going to be in for one hell of a fight before he let Rose be ripped away from him.

oOoOo

"Can I help you?" asked Rajesh, the lead scientist as she stepped into the room several minutes after the Doctor had left and stared up at the Void Ship.

"I was just—“ she stopped and coughed to hide the gagging in her throat.

"Try not to look," he said.  "It does that to everyone. What do you want?"

"Sorry," Rose said, looking away from the ship. "Um… they sent me from personnel. They said some man had been taken—oh, sod it.  You need to send that thing back to hell before it opens up," she said forcefully, unknowingly echoing the Doctor’s sentiment from earlier as she pointed at it.

"And what do you know of it?" Rajesh asked, shocked.

"Enough to know you’re in way over your heads here," she said quickly.  "And it’s going to get a hell of a lot worse if you people don’t start listening."

"Right, seal the room," the scientist said.  "Call security.  I don’t know who you are or where you came from, but I am not taking orders from some radical with a cause.  Samuel? Can you check the door locks? She just walked right in."

"Doing it now, sir," said another voice, and Rose whipped around to see Mickey.  He put a finger to his lips and gave her a thumb’s up as he grinned.

"Well. If you’d like to take a seat," the scientist said as he pulled up something on the computer.  Rose nodded weakly and fell into a chair.  "Yvonne?" he called into the webcam.  "I think you should see this. We’ve got a visitor. We don’t know who she is, but funnily enough, she arrived at the same time as the Doctor."

Rose watched as the whole scene spun while Yvonne turned the laptop, ending up on the Doctor, who was the picture of nonchalance…unless you knew him.  Rose saw the tightening around his eyes as he caught sight of her.

"She one of yours?" she heard Yvonne ask.

"Never seen her before in my life," the Doctor replied, shaking his head.

"Good!" Yvonne said.  "Then we can have her shot."

"Oh all right then, it was worth a try," the Doctor said, sitting up.  "That’s… that’s Rose Tyler."

"Hello!" Rose said with a little wave.  The Doctor waved back, but Rose could see the tension already in his face and shoulders.  She looked at him intently while conversation about her mother happened.  He was worried.  Very worried.  Very worried and trying very, very hard not to look worried.

"Please, when Torchwood comes to write my complete history," he said, looking up at the conversation around him.  "Don’t tell people I travelled through time and space with her mother."

"Charming," Jackie said.

"I’ve got a reputation to uphold!" he said before looking back at Rose.  The facade cracked an instant before Yvonne yelled, and Rose saw for just a second how scared he already was.

It was only going to get worse.

She watched while the group lunged out of shot at the Rift Chamber, and tried to steady her breathing.

"Can we get it out of here?" she asked Rajesh quickly.

"What?" he asked, distractedly.  "No, it came through up there.  It’s only here for study.  Why would we want to?  Yvonne, I thought you said the next Ghost Shift was cancelled. What’s going on?  Yvonne?"

The whole room suddenly shook.  Rajesh stared at the sphere.

"It can’t be," he said, hurrying over to it.  It shook again as he approached. "It’s active!"

Rose moved more slowly across the room.  Upstairs, she knew, the Cybermen were about to come through in force.  Down here, they would be dealing with another nightmare race jettisoned from Hell.

"We’ve got a problem down here," the scientist was yelling into his earpiece as he stared at the computer.  "Yvonne, can you hear me?"

"She can’t hear you," Rose said in a leaden voice.  "No one can.  Communications are being shut down."

"By what?"

"Everything," she said.

He whirled as security doors whooshed into place at every entrance.

"The door’s sealed," he said.  "Automatic quarantine—we can’t get out!"

"It’s all right, babe," Mickey said, standing close.  "We beat them before, we can beat them again. That’s why I’m here. The fight goes on."

"It’s not what you think, Mickey," she said softly, still staring at the sphere, which was vibrating at a high rate now.

"What d’you mean?" he asked.  "We had them beaten, but then they escaped. The Cybermen just vanished.  They found a way through to this world, with that sphere, but - so did we."

"There’s no Cybermen, Mickey," Rose said, looking at him.  "Not here.  They’ll be in the streets, they’ll be in people’s homes, they’ll be converting people on the top floor.  But they’re not here.  They couldn’t build this.  They just followed it."

"How do you know all that?" Mickey asked, staring at her.

"Doesn’t matter," she said, looking back at the sphere.  "What matters is that we’re in a whole lot more trouble than anyone realizes."

Booming sounds echoed around the chamber as the scientist insisted on trying to communicate with anyone.  Then the booming stopped, and the sphere stilled.  The scientist moved back over to them as smooth cracks appeared along the sphere, and it began to open.

"We might be in trouble," Mickey said, watching it, "but I’ve got just the thing."

He darted over to a counter, pulling a huge gun from underneath it.  He came back to them and positioned himself in front, readying the weapon and pointing it at the sphere.

"This is gonna blast them to Hell," he said.

"Samuel, what are you doing?" Rajesh demanded.

"The name’s Mickey," he replied.  "Mickey Smith. Defending the Earth."

Some of his confidence fell away as the sphere opened entirely and the four Daleks glided out at them.  Rose stared at them with a mixture of hatred and dread as Mickey aimed his gun.

“ **LOCATION: EARTH,** " one of them said.  " **LIFE FORMS DETECTED.  EXTERMINATE!** ”


	67. Doomsday (part 1)

**"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"**

"Daleks!" Rose shouted suddenly.  They stopped.  She walked toward them calmly, taking her lab coat off.  "You’re called ‘Daleks’. Think about it - how can I know that? A human…who knows about the Daleks. And the Time War. If you wanna know how, then keep us alive. That’s all I’m asking. Me and my friends."

"Yeah, Daleks," Mickey said quickly.  "Time War. Me too."

"Yeah. And me," Rajesh said.

“ **YOU WILL BE NECESSARY,** " the Dalek in charge said. " **REPORT: WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE GENESIS ARK**?”

“ **STATUS: HIBERNATION** ,” one of them replied.

“ **COMMENCE AWAKENING,** " said the leader.

“ **THE GENESIS ARK MUST BE PROTECTED ABOVE ALL ELSE,** " said another.

It turned to the Genesis Ark as it came out of the sphere, fitting its suction arm to the side.

"The Daleks," Mickey said quietly to Rose.  "You said they were all dead."

"They were," Rose said in a hollow voice, staring at the prison ship.  "Now they’re back from Hell…and they’ve brought friends."

oOoOo

Up in the Rift chamber, the Doctor paced, his mind tumbling in agony.  There were Cybermen everywhere.  Seeing them again was bad enough, spelled enough danger.  They were taking over the world.  But oh, it had to get worse.  Because they hadn’t created the Sphere.  That was something else here.  Something that was in the same room as his Rose.  And he was stuck here.  But he was still breathing.

"What’s down there?" Jackie asked fearfully.  "She was in that room with the sphere. What’s happened to Rose?"

"I don’t know," he said abruptly.  He looked at her when she started to cry, and dashed over to her, grasping her upper arms and stooping to look in her eyes.  "I’ll find her. I brought you here, I’ll get you both out. You and your daughter. Jackie, look at me. Look at me."  She looked up at him, her eyes red with tears that he didn’t have the luxury for.   "I promised her a long time ago that I would always come for her.  I am _not_ going to break that promise now.  I will get you both out of here alive.  I give you my word.”

oOoOo

“ **WHICH OF YOU IS LEAST IMPORTANT?** " asked the leader.

"No, we don’t work like that," Rose said.  "Everyone here is important."

“ **DESIGNATE THE LEAST IMPORTANT!** " it demanded.

"This is my responsibility," Rajesh said, moving toward them.

"No," Rose said, stepping in front of him.  "No, it’s not.  You don’t deserve this."

He pushed her aside and stood in front of the Dalek.  “I er - I represent the Torchwood Institute. Anything you need, you… come through me. Leave these two alone.”

“ **YOU WILL KNEEL,** " it said.

"No," Rose said again.  "You can’t do this!"

“ **KNEEL,** " the Dalek repeated.  Rajesh complied.  " **THE DALEKS NEED INFORMATION ABOUT CURRENT EARTH HISTORY.** ”

"Yeah well I can give you a certain amount of intelligence but nothing that will compromise Home Land security—“

“ **SPEECH IS NOT NECESSARY,** " the Dalek said, interrupting Rajesh.  " **WE WILL EXTRACT BRAINWAVES.** ”

Three of the Daleks advanced on the scientist, who now finally showed signs of fear.

"No!" Rose shouted, moving forward. "You can’t do this!  You can’t!"

"Don’t…I—I’ll tell you everything you need," Rajesh pleaded.  "No. No!"

The Daleks pushed their suctions against his head, and Rose let out a sob as he screamed in agony.  Mickey moved forward, but Rose put an arm out, shaking her head.  Another moment later, the scientist’s corpse fell to the ground, burnt to ashes.

“ **HIS MIND SPOKE OF A SECOND SPECIES INVADING EARTH INFECTED BY THE SUPERSTITION OF GHOSTS,** " said the Dalek leader.

"You didn’t need to KILL him!" Rose shouted furiously.

“ **NEITHER DID WE NEED HIM ALIVE,** " said another one.

“ **DALEK THAY,** " the leader said.  " **INVESITGATE OUTSIDE.** ”

“ **I OBEY,** " Thay said, leaving the room.

They had names.  She’d forgotten these ones had names.  The…what was it?  The cult of something….scareb…scare off…SKARO!

"You have names," she said, slowly.  "What’s yours?"

"I am Sek," the leader said.  "Leader of the Cult of Skaro.  Establish visual contact. Lower communications barrier."

oOoOo

The Doctor watched the laptop on the desk closely as the Cybermen established visual contact.  He had to know what else he was up against, what he’d have to fight to get to Rose.  His blood ran cold as a figure trundled into view.

Dalek.

There were two times since he’d known Rose that he thought she was dead.  Not lost, not temporarily inaccessible, dead.  Just two.  And both of those times had been the result of Daleks.  The only two times they had gone against them, he had thought she died…his hearts started hammering in his chest at the possibility that luck wouldn’t hold out a third time.

The two worst things in the universe between him and Rose.  This wasn’t a storm.

This was Hell.

He watched, frozen in horror, as the two metal monstrosities stared eachother down.

"Rose said about the Daleks," Jackie said quietly after a moment.  "She was terrified of them. What have they done to her, Doctor? Is she dead?"

"Phone," he said through gritted teeth, spinning around to her suddenly.  If the communications barrier was down, and if…he’d be able to get a hold of her.

"What did you—?”

"Phone!" he repeated urgently.

She handed it to him surreptitiously so the Cybermen wouldn’t notice.  He punched the buttons furiously until it dialed Rose’s number, bringing it up to his ear.  He held his breath while it rang, and nearly sagged to his knees when she picked up.

"She’s answered, she’s alive," he whispered hoarsely.  "Why haven’t they killed her?"

"Well, don’t complain!" Jackie spat.

"They must need her for something," he said, ignoring her.  If they needed her, then she was only alive as long as she was useful.  And the clock had started counting down without him.  Rose might be able to buy time better than anyone he knew, but she was still locked down there with things that would kill her as soon as look at her.  He needed to figure out what they needed and how to get her out of there very, very soon.

oOoOo

Rose tried to hold her phone out without drawing attention to herself.  She knew it was the Doctor on the other end, and tried to get him as much information as she could before the connection was closed again.

She watched as the Daleks and Cybermen exchanged their binary battle cries, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the Doctor move past the camera, phone held intently to his ear as he paced.

“ **WAIT!** " said one of the Daleks just after the image cut out.  " **REWIND IMAGE BY NINE RELLS**.   **IDENTIFY GRID SEVEN GAMMA FRAME.** " The image of the Doctor rewound and was zoomed in on.  " **THIS MALE REGISTERS AS ENEMY.** ”

Dalek Sek turned to her as she grinned.  “ **THE FEMALE’S HEARTRATE HAS INCREASED**.”

"Yeah, tell me about it," Mickey snorted.

“ **IDENTIFY HIM** ,” Sek ordered.

"That’s the Doctor," she said, still beaming as the Daleks rolled back quickly.  "Five million Cybermen - easy. One Doctor? _Now_ you’re scared.”

oOoOo

The Doctor leaned against a window sill, the picture of relaxation while his mind reeled.  He couldn’t get to Rose, trapped away with the things that had already nearly taken her from him twice.  Jackie had been taken to be upgraded into a nightmare.  Even if he could find Rose, she’d never forgive him for the death of her mother…and he’d never forgive himself if either of them died.  He’d promised.  He’d given his word.

He forced himself to take slow, even breaths.  He was still breathing, and, if anything left in the universe liked him, Rose was still alive, and he’d find her.  Even if she hated him after this, even if she wanted to leave and never look back, at least he’d get her out of here alive.  Somehow.

“ **You are proof** ,” the Cyber leader said, turning to him.

"Of what?"

“ **That emotions destroy you.** ”

The good emotions tore him apart when the subject was lost, and the bad ones ripped at him constantly.  Yeah, destroy was a good word.

"Yeah, I am," he said, honestly.  Then something caught his eye…something that…shouldn’t exist.  But the thing that could change everything.  "Mind you, I quite like hope. Hope’s a good emotion. And here it comes."

The Doctor dove for the corner as the Cyber leader turned to face the appearance of his own destruction.

oOoOo

_Keep ‘em talking until the Doctor can get here_ , Rose thought.  _He’ll get here, he’s got to.  He’ll bring the cavalry and the temporary allies.  Let the nightmares take out each other.  Just keep them talking._

"I could transport out of here," Mickey said, breaking into her thoughts as he held up the dimension hopper.  "But it only carries one and I’m not leaving you."

"You’d still follow me anywhere," she said, stunned.  "I never deserved you."

"You’re telling me," he said with a grin.

"You’re the bravest man I’ve ever met," she said, taking his hand and squeezing it.

"What about the Doctor?" he asked.

"Oh, all right…bravest Human," she amended with a grin.

"Well, I can’t think what the Daleks need with me," he said after a moment.  "I’m nothing to them."

"It’s both of us," she said.  "We both travelled with the Doctor in the TARDIS."

"What’s that got to do with it?" he asked curiously.

"When you travel in time in the TARDIS, you soak up all this background radiation," she explained.  "It’s harmless, it’s just there. But in the Time War, the Daleks evolved so they could use it as a power supply."

"I love it when you talk technical," he said with a smile.

"Shut up," she said fondly.  "Point is, I brought a Dalek back from the brink of death once with a touch…accident.  But if the Daleks have got something inside that thing that needs waking up…"

"They need you," he finished.

"Nah, I told you," she said.  "Could be either of us.  You’ve travelled now too."

"But why would they build something they can’t open themselves?" he asked.

“ **THE TECHNOLOGY IS STOLEN** ,” Dalek Sek interjected.  “ **THE ARK IS NOT OF DALEK DESIGN.** ”

"Yeah, and who did design it?" Rose asked hatefully.

“ **THE TIME LORDS** ,” Sek replied.  “ **THIS IS ALL THAT SURVIVES OF THEIR HOME WORLD.** ”

"How’d you get your…plungers on it?" she asked, eyeing them distastefully as they shuffled around the Ark.

“ **WE LIBERATED IT** ,” Sek said.  “ **WE ESCAPED WITH IT FROM THE WAR.** ”

"What’s inside?" Mickey asked.

“ **THE FUTURE,** " the Dalek replied.

"What the hell’s that supposed to me?" Mickey pressed, but they ignored him.

"Nothing good," Rose muttered instead.

She sat chewing her lip and fingering her necklace.  Just the other day he’d added another charm, a torch…the international symbol of love and hope.  If it all fell apart, he’d never add another charm…but she’d never be able to take it off, this piece that hadn’t existed the first time, each charm marking a point of growth for both of them.  Not that she’d ever want to.  If she got ripped away again, she’d always want this, to remember as long as she could.

_But that’s not going to happen_ , she thought with steely resolve, fanning the flame of hope in her heart.  _I’m not letting it happen again._

She looked up when the Daleks backed away from the Genesis Ark.

“ **FINAL STAGE OF AWAKENING,** " said one of the Daleks whose name she still couldn’t remember.

“ **YOUR HANDPRINT WILL OPEN THE ARK,** " Sek said, trundling toward her.

"Well tough, ‘cause I’m not doing it," she said, standing up straighter.

“ **OBEY OR THE MALE WILL DIE,** " it threatened, point its death ray at Mickey.

"Yeah, you could do that," she said.  "But then I wouldn’t tell you about what happened in the War.  Cause you lot ran away, didn’t you?  Never saw the end.  Never saw what happened to the Emperor."

“ **THE EMPEROR SURVIVED?** " Sek said, sounding stunned even in its emotionless speech.

“‘Til he met me,” she said with a wink.  “I already told you, you’re not the first Daleks I’ve met. I met the Emperor. And I took in the Time Vortex, and I turned him into dust. Do you get that? The God of all Daleks…and I destroyed him.”

“ **YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!** ” Sek screamed furiously.

"Oh now, hold on," came the Doctor’s calm voice from the doorway.  "Wait a minute."

“ **ALERT, ALERT!** " Sek screamed.  " **YOU ARE THE DOCTOR.** ”

Rose smiled in delight as the Doctor sauntered into the room wearing his 3D specs.  She kept herself from launching at him, but only just.  Now would not be the time for that.

“ **SENSORS REPORT HE IS UNARMED,** " Thay reported.

"That’s me," he said with a grin.  "Always."

“ **THEN YOU ARE POWERLESS,** " Sek said.

"Not me.  Never," he said, taking off the specs and putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing briefly.  "How are you?"

"Oh, same old, you know," she said with a grin.  His eyes skimmed over her for a second, and while he looked completely calm and confident, she saw the old rage that had blazed in blue eyes the last time they’d been separated by Daleks and the coiled tension that was the Oncoming Storm.

"Good!" he said with a grin, keeping up his cheerful act.  "And Mickity-McMickey!  Nice to see ya!"

"And you, boss," Mickey said with a grin as they bumped fists.

“ **SOCIAL INTERACTION WILL CEASE!** " ordered one of the Daleks.

“ **HOW DID YOU SURVIVE THE TIME WAR?** " Sek demanded.

"By fighting. On the front line," the Doctor said, his face finally becoming serious.  Mickey turned and stared at him, stunned.  "I was there at the fall of Arcadia, and been trying to comes to terms with that since. But you lot—you ran away!

“ **WE HAD TO SURVIVE,** " Sek said.

"The last four Daleks in existence," the Doctor said, gazing around at them.  "So what’s so special about _you_?”

"Doctor, that black one, he’s called Sek,” Rose whispered hurriedly.  “He said he’s the leader of the Cult of Skaro.”

"So _that’s_ it!” the Doctor said, grinning again.  ”At last…I thought you were just a legend.”

"Who are they?" Rose asked.

"A secret order," he said, strolling around the room.  "Above and beyond the Emperor himself. Their job was to imagine. Think as the enemy thinks. Even dared to have names.  All to find new ways of killing."

"But that thing, they said it was yours," Mickey said, gesturing to the Ark.  "I mean, Time Lords. They built it. What does it do?"

"I don’t know," he said.  "Never seen it before."

"But it’s…Time Lord," Rose said, a bit lamely.  She couldn’t just…tell him what it was.  She wasn’t sure he could do anything about it even if he knew, and she’d already risked enough with her conversation earlier with Mickey.  Much as he had apparently made his peace with her having a huge secret for now, she wasn’t sure she wanted it revealed by her knowledge of what _Daleks_ were bringing to the table.

"Both sides had secrets," the Doctor said, then turned to the Daleks again.  "What is it? What have you done?"

“ **TIME LORD SCIENCE WILL RESTORE DALEK SUPREMACY,** " Sek said.

"What does that mean?" the Doctor pressed.  "What sort of Time Lord science? What do you _mean_?”

"They said one touch from a time traveler will wake it up," Rose put in.

"Technology using the one thing a Dalek can’t do.  Touch." The Doctor leaned it toward Sek.  "Sealed inside your casing. Not feeling anything…ever…from birth to death, locked inside a cold metal cage.  Completely alone. And that explains your voice. No wonder you scream."

"The Doctor will open the Ark!" Sek screamed.

"The Doctor will not," he said with a contemptuous laugh as he strolled away again.

"You have no way of resisting," the Dalek said.

"Well…you got me there," the Doctor said thoughtfully, spinning back to it.  "Although…there is always this," he added, pulling out his sonic screwdriver.

"A sonic probe?" Sek asked.

"That’s ‘screwdriver’," the Doctor corrected.

"It is harmless."

"Oh yes," he said with a smile.  "Harmless is just the word. That’s why I like it. Doesn’t kill, doesn’t wound, doesn’t maim. But I’ll tell you what it does do: it is _very_ good at opening doors.”

He turned on the sonic, then dove for Rose, driving her to the ground as the doors imploded around them.  Rose saw Jake and his team, bolstered by a group of Cybermen, swarm in and start attacking the Daleks.  Deadly lasers shot everywhere above their heads.

"Rose, get out!" the Doctor shouted, pushing her toward the door.  She made an effort, but stumbled, only to be pulled up again by Pete.  They exchanged a brief glance before bolting together for the door.  The Doctor followed close behind, reaching it seconds later.

"Mickey, come on!" she shouted back into the chamber as it exploded into havoc when the Daleks finally adapted their firepower to take out Cybermen.  Rose saw him stumble and land on the Ark and winced, but took a deep breath as she remembered what the Doctor said about it.  He dashed for the door again, slipping in just ahead of Jake and his team.  The Doctor closed the door again with the sonic, sealing the Daleks and Cybermen alike inside.


	68. Doomsday (part 2)

"Jake, check the stairwell," he shouted.  "The rest of you, come on!"

"I just fell, I didn’t mean it!" Mickey yelled as they ran down a corridor.

"Mickey, without us, they’d have opened it by force. To do that, they’d have blown up the sun. You’ve done us a favor!" he shouted, smacking a kiss on the top of Mickey’s head.  "Now, run!"

They rounded another corner to see two Cybermen advancing on someone they couldn’t see. 

"You will be upgraded," one said.

"No, but you can’t!" Rose heard her mother wail, and stopped, horrified, while Pete grabbed Mickey’s gun without any hesitation.  "Please—“

Pete brought up the gun and shot both of the Cybermen in one go, making them both collapse to the ground.  Rose felt the Doctor move to stand beside her as the smoke cleared and she saw her mother again.

"Pete!" Jackie cried, shocked.  The Doctor’s hand came up to the back of Rose’s neck when her hands flew to her mouth.

"Hello, Jacks," Pete said roughly.

"I said there were ghosts, but that’s not fair," Jackie moaned.  "Why him?"

"I’m not a ghost," Pete said.

"But you’re dead," Jackie insisted.  "You died twenty years ago, Pete."

"It’s Pete from a different Universe," the Doctor said.  "There are parallel worlds, Jackie. Every single decision we make creates a parallel existence, a different dimension where—“

"Oh, you can shut up," Jackie snapped, and for once, he actually did.  He pulled Rose an inch closer as he ran a thumb over the back of her neck.  "Oh…you look old," Jackie continued, gazing at Pete.

"You don’t," Pete said with a smile.

"How can you be standing there?" Jackie asked.

"Just got lucky," he said with a shrug.  "Lived my life. You were left on your own. You didn’t marry again, or…?"

"There was never anyone else," Jackie said, and Rose exchanged a smirk with the Doctor, but then noticed the intense look in his eyes and couldn’t quite look away.  "Twenty years, though. Look at me—I never left that flat. Did nothing with myself."

"Brought her up. Rose Tyler," Pete said, nodding to her.  The Doctor smiled, and brought his other hand up to stroke her cheek.  "That’s not bad."

"Yeah," Jackie whispered, and Rose managed to pull her gaze away from the Doctor to watch her parents as his hand dropped from her cheek.

"In my world, it worked," Pete was telling her.  "All those daft little plans of mine. They worked. Made me rich."

"I don’t care about that," Jackie said, then paused.  "How rich?"

"Very," Pete said with a smile.

"I don’t care about that," she said, then, “How very?"

Rose rolled her eyes and Pete laughed.  She glanced up at the Doctor to see him smiling fondly at her mother before looking back down at her.

"Thing is though, Jacks," Pete said, trying to fight against what was in front of him.  "You’re…you’re not my wife. I’m sorry, but you’re not. I mean, we both…You know, it’s just sort of…" she looked over as he paused.  "Oh, come here," he said, giving in and running toward her.

Before Rose could see their embrace, though, the Doctor spun her and pressed his lips firmly to hers.  When his tongue flicked over her bottom lip, she gave in without hesitation, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying one hand in his fantastic hair as he deepened the kiss hungrily.  He walked her backwards a step, one hand held firmly to the small of her back while the other leaned on the wall behind her.

"So much for those rules, eh?" she heard Mickey say loudly, and the Doctor pulled away with a gasp.  He looked down at her and swallowed hard, and she saw behind the walls he kept so obsessively intact with everyone else, saw the terror he felt about this situation, how scared he’d been when they’d been separated, how scared he still was for her and her safety, and of how he’d live with himself if anything happened to her.  She touched a hand to his cheek and he shivered as he closed his eyes.  He straightened when he opened them, the walls slamming back into place as he pulled his focus back to the problem at hand.

"Right, we need to get to the warehouse area where they store all their alien tech," he said quickly.  "Need to pick something up before I can manage much else."

"This way," Pete said, keeping a hold of Jackie’s hand as he jogged down the corridor.

They ran to the warehouse floor, and the Doctor opened the door to reveal an all-out battle between Daleks and Cybermen.  He peered around, waiting for a safe moment to enter, before diving into the room.  Rose watched anxiously, wincing whenever beams passed near him as he made his way toward a storage box, pulling out the magnaclamps, using them as a shield as he made his way back toward them.

"Come on, please," she whispered as he tripped over a fallen Cyberman, but he quickly righted himself and slipped back through the door.  He dropped the clamps and put on his 3D specs and popped his head back through the door for a moment.  Rose looked out above him as the Daleks opened the roof to bring the Genesis Ark outside.

"Time Lord science—WHAT Time Lord science?" the Doctor asked as he took off the specs, baffled.  "What is it?"  He closed the door and picked up the magnaclamps, running down the corridor again toward the stairwell.  "We’ve gotta see what it’s doing, we’ve gotta go back up! Come on! All of you! Top floor!"

"That’s forty-five floors up!" Jackie protested.  "Believe me, I’ve done ‘em all."

"We could always take the lift…" Jake said as he popped his head out.  The Doctor whipped around and beamed at him.

Once they were back in the Rift Chamber, the Doctor moved quickly to the window, dropping the magnaclamps on Yvonne’s desk.  He watched as the Daleks hovered higher with the Genesis Ark, then stopped.  The thing started spinning, and the Doctor watched in horror as Daleks began shooting out of it.

"Time Lord science," he said quietly.  "It’s bigger on the inside."

"Did Time Lords put those Daleks in there?" Mickey asked.  "What for?"

"It’s a prison ship," he said flatly.

“How many Daleks could fit in there?” Mickey asked as they watched.

“Millions.”

He put on the 3D specs and watched silently for another moment while Pete spoke behind him, ready to abandon this world and take Jackie away to another.  The plan that had been brewing had become the only option…which meant he was going to lose Rose, because she couldn’t stay for this.  He had always known that he would, but it didn’t make it any easier to face now.  She wasn’t going to be ripped away after all.  He’d just have to rip up a part of himself to let her go.  Because she had to go.  She couldn’t be safe here, not with what he was planning.  There was no way he could make sure she was.  So he’s have to let her go to the parallel world, with Mickey and her mother and the father that she’d never had a chance to know.  He’d let her go to be safe, to be happy, to have all the things that he could never give her.  A part of him already felt like it was dying, but at least she would live.

The Cybermen and Daleks, on the other hand, would not be so lucky.  If he had to give up Rose, at least he could take every blasted one of them out in the process.

"As long as the Doctor closes the breach," Pete was saying.  "Doctor?"

He finally turned from the window with a grin.  “Oh, I’m ready.”

oOoOo

Rose watched the Doctor warily as he dashed to a computer, seeming to have a new lease on life.  He had a plan…but she wasn’t sure yet how it would play out for her, even before the levers went up.

"I’ve got the equipment right here," he continued.  "Thank you, Torchwood!  Slam it down and close off both universes."

"But we can’t just leave," Rose said.  "What about the Daleks? And the Cybermen—?"

"They’re part of the problem," he said, moving further into the room before spinning around to face them.  "And THAT makes them part of the solution. Oh yes!  Well? Isn’t anyone gonna ask? What is it with the glasses?"

"What is it with the glasses?" Rose asked, forcing a smile.

"I can SEE! That’s what!" he shouted excitedly, and Rose quickly realized that he was allowing the mania to take over because he was desperate.  “‘Cause we’ve got two separate worlds, but in-between the two separate worlds, we’ve got the Void. That’s where the Daleks were hiding. And the Cybermen travelled through the Void to get here! And you lot—one world to another, via the Void! Oh, I like that. Via the Void! Look!" He pulled off the glasses and hooked them onto Rose’s ears.  "I’ve been through it. Do you see?"

Rose watched as he dodged a little to the left and right, making the particles around him more visible.  She swallowed hard.

"What is it?" she asked, pleased at how normal her voice sounded.

"Void stuff," he said with a grin.

"Like background radiation," she said.

"That’s it," he said, then spun her around.  "Look at the others.  The only one who hasn’t been through the Void—your mother. First time she’s looked normal in her life."

"Oi!" Jackie complained.

The Doctor ran over to the wall, Rose following after a deep breath.

"The Daleks lived inside the Void," he said.  "They’re bristling with it. Cybermen - all of them. I just open the Void in reverse. The Void stuff gets sucked back inside."

"Pulling them all in?" she asked with a smile.

"Pulling them all in!" he said with a wink.

"Sorry…what’s—what’s the Void?" Mickey asked.

"The dead space," the Doctor answered.  "Some people call it ‘Hell’."

"So…you’re sending the Daleks and Cybermen to Hell," he said as he looped the hopper around his neck.  "Man, I told you he was good."

"But it’s like you said," Rose said finally, pulling off the specs.  "We’ve all got Void stuff. Me too, ‘cause we went to that parallel world.  We’re all contaminated. We’ll get pulled in."

"That’s why you’ve got to go," he said, all pretense of cheerful excitement dropped instantly.  "Back to Pete’s world.  I’m opening the Void, but only on this side. You’ll be safe on that side."

"And then you close it," Pete said as Rose shook her head, her eyes burning.  "For good?"

The Doctor coughed and swallowed hard before turning to him.  “The breach itself is soaked in Void Stuff, in the end it’ll close itself. And that’s it. Kaput.”

"Doctor, no—“

"Yeah, you’ll get pulled in," Mickey interrupted, misunderstanding Rose’s protest.

The Doctor looked down at her, and Rose saw the pain…and the apology.  She opened her mouth, but nothing came out before he turned away quickly.  She looked down, unshed tears creating a lump in her throat that made it difficult to breathe, much less speak.  He still wanted to send her away.  He _still_ didn’t get it.

"That’s why…I got these," he said quickly to Mickey, his false cheering forcing its way back to the surface.  "I’ll just have to hold on tight—I’ve been doing it all my life."

"No, Doctor," Rose said finally as she walked toward him.  He stopped and stared at her a little fearfully.  "No, I am not going to get trapped on the other side of hell and away from you."

"Rose, you’ve got to," he said.  "I can’t protect you here."

“And I can’t protect _you_ there!” she shouted.  “Don’t you get it, Doctor?  We’re in this together.  That’s how it works.  The Doctor and Rose Tyler against…whatever the universe throws at us!”

Again, she saw the walls fall, and the intense pain was visible in his eyes.  “Rose…I need you safe,” he said hoarsely.  “You can’t—we always knew this couldn’t last forever, but I can give you this.  You can have every opportunity that you never could with me.  Please.”

"No!" she shouted, tears flowing now.  "Doctor, what makes you think that I’d be any safer, much less happier, somewhere else?  I am not going to let your stupid, masochistic sense of honor send me off to another universe that—just because _you_ think it’s better for me!  It doesn’t work like that, and you know it.”  She took a deep shuddering breath.  “Being pulled apart like that…Doctor, it would destroy both of us just as quickly as any monsters we come up against could.”

There was a crash from outside the building as the Doctor closed his eyes and bowed his head.

"We haven’t got time to argue," Pete said finally, stepping in.  "The plans works, we’re going. You too.  _All_ of us.”

"No, I’m not leaving him!" Rose shouted.

"I’m not going without her," Jackie said stubbornly.

"Oh, my God. We’re GOING!" Pete shouted.

"I’ve had twenty years without you," Jackie said, rounding on him.  "So button it. I’m not leaving her."

"You’ve got to," Rose said, turning her around, realizing quickly that she did.  As much as she’d love to have a chance at the family she lost, Pete couldn’t stay here.  He was too essential to that other universe…without him, it would all fall apart.  And he would do so much good there.

"Well, that’s tough!" Jackie yelled.

"Mum, you could have so much there," she said softly and earnestly.  "You can have Dad back, and the life you always dreamed of when you two got married.  But that’s not the life I want, or the one I need. I told you before, I need the Doctor, and he needs me.  You’ve seen what he does, for all of us, for every stupid planet out there.  And he does it alone.  But now he’s got me.  I love him, Mum.  I can’t walk away from him.  I made up my mind a long time ago, and this is where I want to be.  But you shouldn’t have to stay here, waiting around for me to come back, alone in that old flat.  Go live your dreams, and let me live mine."

She caught Pete’s movement as he pulled the hopper out of his pocket, and whipped around to look at the Doctor, who stood behind her with red eyes and a stunned expression—and empty hands.  She whirled again and hugged her mother tightly for an instant.

“I love you, Mum,” she whispered, then hesitated.  “Don’t let him come back,” she added, releasing her just as Pete pressed the button.  She couldn’t risk him popping over here again.  If things when right she wouldn’t need him, and if the breach closed sooner than expected, he’d be stuck.  She took a deep breath.

"You didn’t try to send me away," she said, turning back to the Doctor.  “You didn’t put the…dimension hopper on me before they left.”

“Of course not,” he said, frowning, his body stiff with tension.  “I never said I wouldn’t suggest you leave if things got dangerous.  But that was painful enough.  I can’t just shove you off if you really don’t want to go—I can’t just make that decision for you.  Not you.  Even if I hadn’t promised.  But Rose, this is going to be hard.  Really hard.  And once the breach collapses, that’s it. You will never be able to see her again.  Your own mother.”

“Like I said, I made my choice a long time ago,” she said evenly.  “And I’m never gonna leave you.”

“You really mean that,” he said, pinning her with an intense look and sounding almost awestruck.  “Mind you…last time I sent you away, you tore apart my ship to get back to me.  I’d hate to see what you’d do to another universe.”

"I’d have ripped that apart too," she said, then launched herself at him.  He wrapped his arms around her and drew a shuddering breath, trying to stabilize himself. 

“No matter how much safer you might have been there,” he whispered against her ear, “there is absolutely nowhere I would rather have you than by my side.”  He pressed a kiss to her hair before pulling away.

"Right," he said, all business again.  "Those co-ordinates over there, set them all at six."

She moved quickly to the computer, smiling a little.  She knew that eventually it would kick in that she’d never see Jackie again, ever, but right now she was just thrilled that not only was this fight almost over, but the Doctor had changed…everything, just by refusing to send her away.

They worked in near silence, barring the few minutes of Cybermen threat.  Finally, the Doctor tapped a command on the laptop, and she heard a computer voice declare that the levers were operational as he grinned.

"That’s more like it, bit of a smile!" she called, grinning back.  "The old team!"

"Hope and Glory, Mutt and Jeff," he said as he walked over to pick up the magna clamps. "Shiver and Shake!"

"Which one’s Shiver?" she asked.

"Oh, I’m Shake," he said.  He stopped, looking at her for a moment before setting the magnaclamps down, pulling her close and kissing her hard.  "For luck," he whispered huskily when he pulled away a moment later, picking up the magnaclamps and dumping one in her arms.

He called quick instructions about attaching the magnaclamp, then about what to expect when the breach opened as they took up positions in front of the levers.

"When it starts, just hold on tight. Shouldn’t be too bad for us but the Daleks and the Cybermen are steeped in Void Stuff. Are you ready?"

_This is it_ , Rose thought, breathing deeply.  _Moment of truth._   She prayed to anything holy left in the universe that this time would be different, this time she’d do better, this time they’d both survive and live happily ever after…whatever that meant.

Rose nodded, then looked forward at the window, where Daleks were careening towards them.  “So are they.”

oOoOo

Three days after the Battle of Canary Wharf, Captain Jack Harkness sat at his desk at Torchwood 3 looking over reports from the event.  He knew the Doctor had to have been there.  No one else could possibly come up with an idea that sucked all those metal nightmares into a trans-dimensional hole in the wall.  There had been so many times over the last century and half that Jack saw the Doctor shining through events.  For a long time, any reminder of the man sent him on a bender.  He had cared so much about the Time Lord and his extraordinary human companion, the two people who had shown him what kind of person he could really be, and the betrayal he felt at being abandoned at the GameStation was excruciating.  The Doctor running away was bad enough, but Rose…she’d known what was going to happen.  He could understand not being able to stop it, but he still had a hard time forgiving her for letting the Doctor leave him behind.  As time passed, however, the wound healed, and he found himself realizing that for him and the Doctor to survive at all, Rose had to have taken some serious personal risks, near terminal risks, maybe the Doctor too.  He still wasn’t sure why he was… _as_ alive as he was, but he thought less about the anger and more about what amazing people they were, and how much he hoped that he’d be able to see them again one day.

Then the events of Torchwood One had happened.  As talks about parallel worlds filtered down, Jack had been filled with a growing feeling of dread.  He had no doubt that this was the event that Rose had been brought back to change, to correct.  Now that he finally had some reports, he scanned through them hurriedly, looking for any mention at all of her or the Doctor.  When he finally did, he froze, unable to even breathe.  He read her name again before his eyes flew to the report heading and back down.  There, on the list of the hundreds that had gone missing and were presumed dead, in cold black writing, were the words _Rose Marion Tyler_.  He didn’t know if that meant that she had been killed, or if she’d been trapped again, only to fade out of existence.  He wasn’t sure which would be worse.

“Oh, Rose…” he moaned, his heart breaking for the girl who had fought so hard, and for the man who would never truly know what he had lost.


	69. Beauty in the Breakdown

Three days.  Three days since he’d seen her smile.  Three days since she’d said the words “I love you.”  Three days without her large hazel eyes twinkling at him.  Three days without the sound of her laughter bringing light to all the dark corners of his heart and mind.  It might as well have been three centuries.  Three millennia.

It might as well have been eternity.

The Doctor sat in the console room, staring despondently into the middle distance.  He hated this feeling of powerlessness.  The TARDIS kept trying to give him comfort, but he ignored it.  The ship had told him Rose was safe to try to comfort him before.  Now he didn’t want comfort.  He wanted Rose.  He leaned back and scrubbed his hands over his face, his mind replaying those last few moments at Canary Wharf again in excruciating detail.

oOoOo

“Are you ready?” he asked as each knelt by a lever.

She nodded, then looked forward.  “So are they,” she said, looking out the window.  He saw the Daleks careening toward them.  “Doctor,” she said, and he looked back at her.  “Whatever happens...just remember that I love you.”

He swallowed hard and nodded.  “Always, Rose,” he said, hearts hammering.  He took a deep breath.  “Right, One…two…three!”

They both pushed their levers up and darted over to the magna clamps.  For a few minutes, everything worked perfectly.  He shouted in triumph as the Cybermen and Daleks sped toward the Void and out of their universe.  Then he heard a furious shout from Rose, and looked over to see a Dalek slam in the lever on her side, knocking it out of place.  Sparks flew over her head as the system overloaded.  He looked over at her fearfully, and saw her eyes glowing gold.  _No_ , he thought in terror.  _Not again_.  She couldn’t do this.  It was impossible.  He’d died to take all that out of her.  Even if she had, somehow, retained some of the power of the Vortex and had managed to survive this long, if she tapped into that now, she would burn.  Her mind wasn’t meant for that.

“Offline,” he heard a computer voice say, and watched in horror as Rose’s lever began to slip down and the suction slowed.  It was all he could do to hang on as, in his mind, he watched everything fall apart.  The Daleks and the Cybermen would survive this…and Rose wouldn’t.  He hadn’t sent her away, because he’d promised he wouldn’t, and now she was going to die because of it.  At least if she had gone to the other universe, she’d still be alive somewhere.

She turned her head to the lever.  “No,” she said in a strong, weirdly reverberating voice.  “This will not happen again.”

The lever glowed gold, and snapped back into position so hard that it cracked along its length.

“Online and locked,” the cold computer voice said.

He watched as Rose turned her focus to the breach itself, and the entire room seemed to glow gold for a moment as the Cybermen and Daleks flew past in a solid blur as the suction strengthened to epic proportions.  It was only another minute, however, before the breach crumpled in on itself behind them, and the light died.  He flew across the room to her.

“Rose…Rose, what have you DONE?” he thundered, his terror making him sound furious.

“I want you safe, my Doctor,” she said, standing up straight.  “Forever.”

And she collapsed in his arms.

oOoOo

The Doctor’s eyes burned as he relived her collapse.  He sniffed and pulled himself into a standing position with effort before walking slowly to the infirmary.  He’d carried her here after the breach closed, past the corpses and debris, leaving the humans to clean up their mess while he sank into a nightmare.  He’d barely left her side since spinning them off into the Vortex, away from the slaughter and into the place that was supposed to bring them peace.  The only time he broke away was when the sight of her lifeless body became too much to bear, and he could barely breathe.  He’d known that she would be ripped away one day, but he’d never expected this.

He looked down at her unconscious form and swallowed hard.  He had no explanation, and no solution.    Her heart beat was strong and steady, and she was breathing on her own.  The rest of her body seemed to be in some sort of stasis, though, for some reason, he couldn’t do more than the most rudimentary scans.  Physically, she appeared fine.  She just wouldn’t wake up.  He wasn’t sure if she ever would.

She’d been so surprised that he hadn’t just sent her away.  The thought had crossed his mind, briefly.  But he hadn’t been lying when he said suggesting she leave was hard enough.  Forcing her to leave when all either of them wanted was to stay together was torture.  But if he’d been strong enough…she’d be alive, over there…not here in this strange coma that he had no cure for.

He sighed and pulled a chair next to her bed, collapsing into it wearily before taking her hand.

“Are you still in there, love?” he asked quietly.  “Please come back to me.  I don’t know how to do this without you anymore.”  He laughed bitterly, his eyes rolling up to the ceiling as he shook his head.  “I’ve survived for more than 900 years.  When everyone else perished or disappeared, I went on.  And now, because of one tiny pink and yellow human, I’m completely lost.  I don’t think I’ll ever understand how you did that, Rose.  When I met you, I was…a mess.  A misshapen disaster of a man, cobbled back together by time after being broken over and over.  But you…you tore it all down.  You ripped apart every little piece, and put me back together into something new, something whole, something that stood a chance of deserving you.  You’ve made me stand taller and breathe easier than I ever have in my very, very long life.”

He looked at her face again and stood up suddenly, pacing the room.  “Why did you have to do that, Rose?  Why did you have to be so damn persistent at making me better?  Because now, oh yes, I’m well and healed…except that now I have you running through my veins.  You’re the thing that makes all these new parts work.  You’re the thing that keeps me alive.  _Who the hell gave you that right_?” he shouted, tears in his eyes.  He took a shuddering breath and raised the heels of his hands to his eyes, wiping the tears away before running a hand over the lower half of his face.  He walked over to her again, staring down at her with his hands buried in his pockets.  He raised one shaking hand to stroke her hair gently.

“What was your secret, Rose?” he asked quietly.  “The…old me…he said I’d know what it means when the time was right.  Was this it?  You sacrificing yourself for me…again?  ‘Cause if this is the great, huge, fantastic secret, I don’t want it.”

He looked down at her for a long moment, caressing her cheek.

“But for all of that,” he said quietly, “for all the pain I might feel now, for whatever agony I have to endure if you never come back, I will never regret it.  Never.  I would do it all again in a heartbeat.  Because you were the best thing that ever happened to me.  I will always love you, Rose Tyler.”

He leaned down and pressed his lips gently to hers, then broke away hurriedly and staggered back when he felt her respond.

“What?” he muttered, stunned.  He stared at her, dumbfounded, as her eyes fluttered open.  “ _What_?”

oOoOo

When the Dalek hit the lever, Rose had been furious.  She had spent two years, two glorious, maddening, painful, outstanding years fighting to get to this moment with the Doctor.  They had become so much more than she had ever dreamed they could, done so much more than she could have imagined.  She was not going to lose everything she had gained because of a god damned Dalek.  Not again.

As her rage built, she found a tiny part of herself, some remnant of something lost, locked away in the recesses of her mind.  She could have sworn she heard a wolf howl as she dipped into that hidden power source while sparks showered down on her, and felt her mind begin to burn in a vaguely familiar way.  Time slowed as the song in her mind swelled.

“Offline,” the computer voice said as the lever began to slip.

“No,” she said firmly.  “This will not happen again.”

She concentrated on the lever, pushing the golden fire burning inside her toward it with all her will.  It snapped back into position and cracked.

“Online and locked,” the computer intoned, and she turned her attention to the breach, willing it further open, adding her own strength to the force sucking away the nightmares. The room glowed as she watched them blur past with grim satisfaction until the breach crumpled like a wad of paper.

She stood up straight when the air was calm again.  The Doctor had sprinted across the room toward her, grasping her upper arms and shouting.

“I want you safe.  My Doctor,” she said.  “Forever.”

And then she spun away.

 _You need to heal, my Wolf_ , the TARDIS sang distantly.  _That foolhardy move cost too much of your own strength._

But Rose could feel the pride shining through the scolding in the thought.  She’d done it.  After all this time, after every heartbreak and minor victory, she had finally reached the point of triumph.

Except now, she was lost.  She wandered a twisting corridor bathed in golden light.  Every door she opened was a memory brought to life.  She saw herself dancing with her Doctor in leather.  She watched the moment of his demise, the way he held her so tightly before he burned into oblivion.  She saw the light shining in her pinstriped Doctor’s eyes when he took her hand on Christmas.  She listened in on conversations with both versions of him, and watched as a wounded man gradually lowered his considerable defenses, letting her in, letting her heal him.  She wandered through their love story, saw every hesitant touch and reluctant admission as they blossomed into more than she’d ever thought possible.

Then she heard his voice filtering back to her, guiding her along.  He recounted what he had been, and what he had become because of her.  He raged at his own reliance on another being to keep him whole and breathing, demanding to know who had given her the right to be that person.  He questioned her secret, quite wrongly, as it turned out.  And then he said what she longed to hear.  That he didn’t regret any of it.  That he would do it all again, because he loved her.  She touched the TARDIS blue door…

…and felt his lips on hers.  She responded immediately, but then he was gone.  Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around at the TARDIS infirmary.

“What?” she heard him ask in a stunned voice.  “ _What_?”

“Doctor?” she asked, her voice raspy.

“I…I’m here,” he croaked, clearing his throat before he moved to get her a glass of water.  She took it gratefully when he stepped closer, drinking it down before she spoke again.

“How long?” she asked.

“Too long,” he breathed, before gathering her up in his arms to hold her tightly.  “Why the hell did you do that?  HOW the hell did you do that?  You could’ve…you SHOULD’VE burned.”

“Stronger than the average human,” she whispered.

“Never argued with that,” he said.  “Still…Rose…you could have died.”

“But I didn’t,” she said, pulling away to touch his cheek, and gave him a teasing grin.  “Catch me dying on you.  You’d be lost without me.”

“Undoubtedly,” he said fervently, grabbing her hand to kiss her palm.  His eyes were fever bright as he looked down at her.  “Don’t _ever_ do that to me again.  It’s one thing to know I’m going to lose you to time one day…it’s another entirely to watch you sacrifice yourself for me.”

Rose looked up into his eyes.  It was over now.  She hadn’t fallen.  She wasn’t going to fade away.  He didn’t have to lose her, not ever…unless he didn’t want anything to do with her anymore.  Either way, she’d made it to the moment of truth.  He had to know.  She leaned up to whisper in his ear.

_“All my love to Bad Wolf Bay.”_

oOoOo

The moment her words registered, his mind was set ablaze.  He sagged heavily against Rose and the bed as the memories from his previous self flowed back through his mind.  The argument, the anger, the betrayal all came back to him, followed immediately by the explanations and declarations, the flood of images of the tragic life that might have been, her kiss…and her promise of forever.  Everything that was odd and elusive about her slammed into place as he remembered what she had done, what she had gone through to save them both.

He was gasping for breath when he finally became aware of his surroundings again.  Rose had an arm around his waist and a hand on his chest, supporting him as he leaned heavily on her shoulders.  He stared at her, his mind whirring with new thoughts and possibilities.  In his mind, the TARDIS sang a song of unbelievable love and happiness and triumph, filling his mind with an amount of hope that was wholly foreign to him.

“Are you alright?” she asked, looking concerned, and he sprang away from her.

“Alright?” he asked.  “Rose Tyler, alright doesn’t come close to what I am right now.”

He whipped around and started pulling out bits and bobs for every scan at his vast disposal to confirm that she was, in fact, going to be around for a long, long time.

“See, I couldn’t do any real scans on you while you were sleeping,” he said, rooting around with one hand while the other waved in the air as he spoke quickly.  “Couldn’t figure out why.  Must have been the TARDIS keeping me from seeing something I wasn’t supposed to see yet.  How thick am I?  Of _course_ your secret wouldn’t be you dying…you said you were never gonna leave me, I didn’t know you actually _meant_ it.  All the…all the stuff, the peculiarities and strangeness about you…oh, of course you wouldn’t get more than a bump on the head…if you’re meant to last as long as me, stands to reason you’d be a bit more resilient than the average human.  Oh, and the timelines!  Mind you, I make a point to not look at companion’s timelines…doesn’t do to know too much about people who are travelling with you and risking their necks every day…but yours are all looped and knotted and completely, completely wrong and OH! That’s why I couldn’t see past Canary Wharf, you cheeky bloody ship.  Because, see, the TARDIS is psychic, remember?  And her and I…well, we have a special relationship, and she hid you from me so I couldn’t see just _how long_ your timelines were…you’re staring at me,” he realized as he turned back to her with equipment in hand.  “What’s wrong?”

“Are you going to kick me out?” she asked.

“What?” he asked, thrown.  “Why would I kick you out?  Where would you go?  And what would I do without you?  Now, just hold still…no, Rose, quit fidgeting, STAY!  There, just a pinch.  Sorry.  Bit more than a pinch.  You’ll heal.  Probably very shortly.  Anyway.  What was I saying?  Oh, right.  Long timelines.  Yes.  Yours are quite long.  And now I’m going to go back to not looking at them, because I don’t really want to see what’s in our future, I’d quite rather simply live it.  But that adds a lot of validity to the claim of forever.  I’m just running scans now to confirm that and to find out exactly _why_ because you, Rose Tyler, are a completely singular, absolutely fascinating specimen.  Aaaand you’re still staring at me.”

“You’re taking this…very well,” she said.

“How else would I take it?” he asked, pulling out his brainy specs as the monitor beeped.  “The woman I love is going to last as long as I do.  Mind you…there’s definitely a side order of guilt that’s pretty substantial.”

“Why would _you_ feel guilty?”

“Because if you hadn’t met me, you would never have been in that other universe, and you would never have had to come back and relive two years of your life in order to save yourself.  And me.  And us.  Not to mention the fact that I almost sent you back there.  Good thing you’re so stubborn.  I would like to—“  He was peering at the monitor, but straightened abruptly when her inflection hit him.  “Hold on, why do _you_ feel guilty?”

“Because I’ve been manipulating you for two years,” she said, with the face of someone explaining the obvious.

“What?  What’re you talking about?” he asked.  “Well, okay, I could see how maybe on some of our adventures you might have manipulated events—“

He stopped when he suddenly considered every person that she’d been responsible for saving, from Jabe to Jefferson, and every person she’d argued either with directly or on their behalf before they’d been lost.

“Oh, you brilliant girl,” he murmured, awestruck.  “You tried to save them all, didn’t you?”

“Um…well, yeah, of course I wanted people saved,” she said.  “But I couldn’t.  Not everyone can be saved, no matter how hard you try, no matter what you already know, no matter how good the plan sounds…you just can’t save everyone.”  His lips twitched.  “What?”

“Nothing,” he said, smiling.  “You are…absolutely amazing.  That’s all.  And very, very odd…” he added, peering at the monitor again as the readings poured in.  “Huon energy.  Supposed to unravel atoms.  Well, it did.  Sort of.  Basically there’s this theory that part of the reason Time Lords are…were…the way they were was because they evolved around the Untempered Schism.  Near as I can tell…taking in the Time Vortex the way you did basically pushed the fast forward button on evolution, assuming humans had evolved around the Schism.  DNA is still human…ish.  Same codons…more or less.  Maybe a couple of extra.  But the strands are considerably longer, and considerably more complicated.  Structure is a bit more similar to TNA in places…there’s a few places where an extra helix winds around to help cope with added codons.  That’s where the Huon energy comes in.  Isn’t even supposed to exist anymore… _doesn’t_ exist anymore, except in the heart of the TARDIS…and you.  It unraveled bits of your DNA to allow it to mutate, but…it seems to have stabilized…that’s…that’s remarkable…”

“I have no idea what that means,” Rose said, sounding completely lost.

“Well…” he said, glancing up at her.  “Honestly, I’m not sure myself.  Near as I can tell, you’re going to heal a lot faster and it’s going to take a hell of a lot more to kill you than the average human.  That bump on the head you got in Scotland probably should have been a fractured skull.  Because of all that, things that _would_ be life-threatening to humans probably won’t be such an issue to you, unless you get shot in the head or something.  Please don’t get shot in the head or something,” he added, glancing at her again.  “Can never tell with you.  Jeopardy friendly and all.  Other than that…your cells are replicating at a phenomenal rate.  Someday, you might die simply from living too long.  But that’s not going to happen for a long, long time, and when it does, you’ll still look the way you do now, barring a few cosmetic changes—hair length, accumulated scars, etc.  No withering and decaying for you.”

“Hold on, but Doctor, why aren’t you angry?” she asked, shaking her head.

He stared at her.  “Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because I manipulated you too,” she said.  “Not just events.  I mean, last time, we weren’t…well…this.  I already knew some things about you, so I knew how to ask about Gallifrey and what happened.  You opened up to me because I already knew all your personality quirks.  I made you care about me—“

“Hold on,” he said, holding up a hand as he thought quickly through this new concept.  “Just…just hold on.  First of all, you simply asking me questions is not what made me care about you.  If I fell in love with everyone that asked me questions…well, let’s just say I’d be worse than Jack.  Second of all…okay, second of all, what made you ask the questions?  You said you knew some things…but not nearly what you do now, yeah?”

“The TARDIS told me to get you to open up more,” she said.  “She said it would do you a world of good.”

“Hmm…like I said, cheeky,” he said, taking off his specs and shoving them in his pocket.  “So, a sentient ship pulls you here from an alternate universe tells you to get me to open up, because that’s apparently something that happens in our lives.  Alright.  So you ask questions.  And then what happened when we started getting past what you knew?  You asked more.  And what happened when it got dark, when I yelled, when I told you about things that were ugly and frightening?  You stayed.  You stayed, and you fought the demons, and you kept me from falling apart, over and over again.  And what about the times we argued, hmm?  The times you stood up to me, told me things I didn’t want to hear?  Did the TARDIS tell you what to say then?  Hmm?  I think not.  Because all of that, Rose, is all you.  It has nothing to do with what a ship told you before you came back, it has nothing to do with you coming back at all.  Except maybe that you’re a little older, and a little wiser, and have a different view of the universe and me than you did when you first met me.  Trust me, Rose, I’ve seen manipulation…that ain’t it.”

He looked at her, studying her for a moment.  Everything about her was absolutely astonishingly beautiful…and she really didn’t know.  The nightmares that left her sobbing and apologizing for things she couldn’t explain came back to him in harsh detail, and he stepped closer to her, one hand going under her jaw to tip her face up to look at him.  He dropped light kisses on her forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks, before nudging her nose gently with his and dropping his lips to hers lightly.  He looked into her eyes again, trying to explain everything he, for all his words, couldn’t explain.  The enormous respect, the amazement, the unqualified joy at her very existence.  Then he pressed his lips more firmly to hers, sweeping his tongue against her lip, deepening the kiss and pouring every ounce of love and awe he had into his completely impossible girl.

“I really get to stay,” she whispered after a moment when he pulled back and rested his forehead on hers.  “I get to stay here, in this universe…with you.”

“You really do,” he said, brushing a hand over her cheek.

“But I’m never going to see them again,” she said, her voice breaking a little.

“I’m sorry, Rose,” he said softly.

“It’s…it’s okay,” she said, blinking rapidly.  “This is what I wanted.  And they would have forgotten me anyhow.  This is…good…”

He pulled her into his arms just as the tears started to fall.

oOoOo

Rose cried for a long time, longer than she’d thought possible, especially since this was what she’d wanted.  But she was crying for everything that she’d held back for two years, for all the fears, unwarranted or no, for all the pain and frustration, for all that she’d lost and all that she’d never have.  Somewhere in there, too, were tears of joy, that she’d finally won, that they were going to get their happy ending, whatever that meant.  She could finally give him forever. 

She was vaguely aware at some point that the Doctor had carried her into his bedroom, away from the cold sterility of the infirmary, but he other than that, he simply held her while she let everything go.

“Are you sure this is what you wanted?” he asked softly when she finally managed to calm down.

“Yes, Doctor,” she said firmly, her voice rough.  “I would have had to watch them all forget me again.  Would have been even harder knowing what was happening and not being able to do anything.  And…I don’t think I could take losing you again.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said, leaning up to hover over her while he brushed the hair from her face before kissing her softly.  “And, apparently, neither are you,” he added with a grin.

“Just too good,” she said, giving him a teasing smile.

“That you are, Rose Tyler,” he said happily.  “That you definitely are.”

“Can we…can we say goodbye to her?” she asked hesitantly.

“Rose…the walls between the universes were sealed when the breach collapsed,” he said painfully.

“What if…there was a crack?” she asked slowly.  “Just one crack.  Do you think we could get at least a visual message through?”

His eyes roved as he considered the question.  “Rose, even if there was, it would take a phenomenal amount of power to do what you’re suggesting.”

“Like a supernova?” she asked, and he looked down at her sharply.  His eyes softened when he realized exactly what she was saying.

“I’ll find a way,” he promised.

He leaned down and kissed her again deeply, pulling away only when they were both breathless.  He pressed kisses along her jaw to her neck, his hand on her hip rising slightly to brush the soft skin of her waist under her shirt.  She murmured his name, and he froze for a second before pulling away.  This was where he should stop.  This was where he always stopped.  They couldn’t go any further than this.

Why was that again?

Because she couldn’t sustain the mental connection Time Lords had with their mates.  Alright.  So there’d always be an ache for something else.  How big of an ache?  More than loving her and knowing they couldn’t have _anything_ else because she’d die long before he did, knowing that he’d have to watch her age and decay in front of him?  Probably not.

Because if he had this with her, it would just make it more painful when she was gone, give him more to miss.  But she’d been saying it all along, hadn’t she?  She wasn’t going anywhere.  None of the rules that he’d clung to like a security blanket all this time applied anymore.  Maybe it was time to start doing what they did best…and make it up as they went along.

He looked down at her as she fiddled hesitantly with the buttons of his suit jacket, biting her lip.  Human 2.0, that’s what she’d said.  So much more than anyone else…and he knew they could at least give each other this—after the last three days, he _needed_ this, just to assure himself that she was here, and alive, and going to last.  He leaned down and kissed her again, all his rules and reason shattering around them.


	70. Epilogue

The Doctor spent the next two weeks between calculations and deep scans to find a way for Rose to say goodbye to Jackie and spending as much time as possible with the girl herself.  He’d been horrified to learn the specifics of what she’d gone through in the parallel world, having her own mother forget her, having the father she’d never known fight for her and lose, over and over, all without having any hint as to what was happening—compounded by guilt that he’d actually suggested she go back there, regardless of whether he’d been in a position to know what would happen or not.  She’d told him exactly what had happened in the Rift Chamber as well, the way he’d tricked her into leaving, the way she’s come back, and the manner in which she’d ultimately ended up trapped there anyway.  He couldn’t imagine the pain he would have felt had he watched her get pulled towards the Void.  She didn’t know any real specifics about what had happened to him after he lost her, and the TARDIS wasn’t offering up anything more than she already had.  She had only been able to retrieve those moments while they still existed in potential; now that time had been rewritten, those images would be impossible to play back, even for her.  Probably for the best.  The Doctor had dark enough moments while she’d been comatose—he couldn’t imagine the despair of losing her completely in such a way.

He was still stunned at what she had gone through the last two years.  He could understand now why she had started sounding so much like him.  Reliving those adventures gave her a unique perspective, and she’d come as close to seeing the universe the way he did as anyone who wasn’t a Time Lord could.  He could see why the TARDIS had sent her back so far—all the oddness, as well as the personality change, would have been impossible to ignore if he’s already known her at all—but he hated that she’d had to go through all that, all the loss, all the guilt, all over again.  He couldn’t, however, hide the pride he felt when she did recount some of the specifics that she’d changed, how hard she’d fought, the people that had survived because of her.

He’d found out soon after the battle that both her and Jackie were listed as dead.  He’d offered to get her name at least taken off the list, but she’d refused.  She said it would provide closure for the people still left behind, the family and friends.  Without Jackie there, it just wasn’t home anymore.  Let those that still remained mourn for them and move on.

When they weren’t talking about the more morbid subjects, though, the Doctor was delighted just to sit and watch her.  Now that she wasn’t living in the shadow of her own secret, she sparkled again.  There was still grief over the fact that she wouldn’t see her mother again, except maybe to say goodbye, but she knew what her mother’s life would be, and how much happiness it would be filled with.  After all, she’d been there the first time.  So as much as it hurt, she didn’t allow it to detract from her happiness that she could stay with him.  He was still floored that she loved him that much, and was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that she was actually going to last.

Not that he was complaining.  About anything.  He hadn’t even panicked when, the day after she’d regained consciousness, he’d woken up to see her sitting next to him on his bed, holding out a mug of tea and wearing _his_ shirt—that only had appeared to have four buttons still attached.  He still craved the telepathic connection that Time Lords created with their mates, quite badly, but the ache wasn’t nearly as excruciating as loving her while he’d thought she had a human lifespan had been.  This was a pain he would take gladly if that was all he had to bear.

For Rose’s part, she was on cloud 9.  The nightmare battle was over, the war against Time itself had been won.  She was finally free to live happily ever after with the Doctor, and happy it was indeed.  He had taken everything so much better than she’d dared to hope, and the Doctor from her nightmares had never even factored in.  He still loved her, and he still wanted her—he was even trying to find a way to say goodbye to Jackie for her.

She knew that it would take a while for it to fully hit her that she’d never see her mother again, probably not until after she’d said goodbye, and she was already mourning the loss of the family she’d never be able to have with her and Pete, but it was better this way.  While things had fallen into place almost immediately for her parents, life in the other universe had been a constant struggle for Rose from day one, a struggle that had only gotten worse when she’d finally realized what was happening to her.  Jackie had a chance to be happier than she’d ever been, and at least now she wouldn’t forget Rose—hopefully being able to say goodbye would convince her mum that she was just as happy.

She knew the Doctor still harbored some guilt about the fact that, if it wasn’t for him, she would never have had to do any of it.  But, as she told him, if it hadn’t been for him, she wouldn’t have had a life worth fighting so hard for.  For the first nineteen years of her life, nothing happened. Nothing at all. Not ever. And then she'd met the Doctor. A man who could change his face. And he took her away from home in his magical machine, and showed her the whole of time and space.  Together, they'd fought, and they'd laughed, and they'd loved.  And now it never had to end.

oOoOo

The Doctor beamed when he found it.  He knew it could be done…after all, he’d done it.  But that didn’t stop him from a hearty self-congratulation when he found the crack and the perfect power source for Rose to say her goodbye.  As soon as he was sure of his findings, he went off to give her the good news.  He found her in the library, and whistled as he sauntered in.  This wasn’t the only surprise he had for her.

“I’ve found your supernova, love,” he said, taking a seat next to her on the sofa, beaming when her face lit up.  “And a crack.  I’ll help you get a message through to lead her to the right place, then I’ll patch in something visual so you can see each other.”

She threw her arms around his neck.  “That’s just…brilliant,” she said.  “Thank you, Doctor.”

“Of course, Rose,” he said, pulling back a little.  “I promised, right?  Catch me breaking promises to you,” he added with a wink.  “Oh, and there is one other thing.”

She pulled back further and shifted, looking at him expectantly.

“I’ve decided that you were right,” he said.  “That chain was just entirely too cluttered.”

“You…you took the charms?” she stammered.  She’d asked about the chain when she found he’d taken it off while she was sleeping, but he’d evaded explanations, simply saying he needed it for something.

He nodded.  “Couldn’t even get to the key anymore.  Completely ridiculous design.  Don’t know why I ever did it in the first place.”  He took a sideways glance at her and saw her swallow hard.  “Soooo…I decided that a bracelet for them would make more sense,” he went on, tugging the new bracelet out of his pocket, complete with every charm—the TARDIS, the snowflake, the crescent moon, the star, the mistletoe, the forget me nots, the angel wings, the dream catcher, the silhouettes, the cross with roses engraved in it, the lightning bolt and the torch.  He held it up to her, watching it glitter in the firelight. 

“May I?” he asked softly, holding out his other hand.  She nodded mutely and gave him her arm, letting him slip the bracelet around her wrist and clasp it with the sonic.  He smiled when she held up her arm, examining it with a small smile.

“And the key?” she asked, tearing her gaze away from the beautiful bracelet.

“Right, that,” he said, as if he’d completely forgotten about that part.  “Have that too.”  He pulled it out of another pocket and handed it to her with hands that shook slightly.

There were only two charms on the chain now; one heart on either side of the key.  There were silver scars running across the bright red surface of each one.

“Be careful with those, Rose,” he said softly.  “That’s—“ he swallowed hard.  “That’s everything I have to give.  They’re not perfect.  But they’re yours.”

When she looked back at him with tears shining in her eyes.  She put a hand on his cheek before leaning forward to kiss him softly.

oOoOo

Jackie Tyler woke with a start.  She looked around the dark room, at her husband sleeping next to her.  What in the hell?

 _Mum_.

“Rose?”  Jackie looked around bewildered for another moment before shaking her husband awake.  “Pete, Pete wake up!  It’s Rose!”

She told him about the dream, and about hearing her again after being awake.  He listened quietly, then called Mickey.  They sat in front of the fire and she told her story again.  They knew the Doctor.  They believed her.  They piled in Pete’s old jeep and took off.  They drove for miles and miles, following Rose’s voice to her mother.

They finally stopped at a deserted beach at the back of beyond.  Pete and Mickey stayed with the jeep as Jackie walked away, searching for any sign of her daughter.

“Mum,” she heard finally, and turned to see her daughter standing there, slightly transparent.

“Where are you,” Jackie asked, moving toward her.

“Inside the TARDIS,” Rose replied.  “There’s this tiny gap left, but it’s just about to close.  It takes a lot of power to even do this.  We’re orbiting around a supernova.”  She glanced away and laughed softly.  “The Doctor is burning up a sun just so I can say goodbye.”

“You look like a ghost,” Jackie said, shaking her head.

“Hold on,” she heard the Doctor’s voice call.  He came up behind Rose and pointed his sonic thingy at something, and suddenly they looked solid.  Jackie stepped closer and moved to touch her daughter’s cheek.

“Can I—“

“Still just an image,” the Doctor said, sounding regretful.  “No touch.”

“Can’t you come through properly?”

They both shook their heads at her.  “The whole thing would fracture,” the Doctor said.

“Both universes would collapse,” Rose added.

“So?”  Jackie laughed a little as her daughter smiled, but she was only half joking.

“Where are we?” the Doctor asked suddenly, looking around.  “Where did the gap come out?”

“Bloody Norway,” Jackie said with a little irritated noise.  “A place called Darlig Ulv Stranden.”

“Dalek?”  The Doctor’s voice was sharp.

“DAR-lig,” Jackie said, shaking her head.  “Norwegian for ‘bad.’  Yeah, this place, it translates as ‘Bad Wolf Bay’.  Cheery, eh?”

The Doctor started at the name, and looked at Rose with a stunned expression.  The serene smile her daughter wore confused Jackie, but then, Rose had been confusing her for a long time.

“How long have we got?” she asked.

Rose glanced at the Doctor.  “About two minutes,” he said softly.

“I can’t think what to say!”

Rose glanced at the jeep.  “Still got Mickey hanging around then?  And…Dad?”

“Five of us now,” Jackie said.  “Mickey and his gran moved into the mansion.  Can you believe it, me in a mansion?”  The Doctor gave a little snort, and Rose shushed him.  “Well, there’s them, and the baby…”

“Mum!”

Jackie grinned broadly and touched her stomach.  “Three months gone.  Pete’s proud as punch.  Not that it could replace you,” she added, a touch sadly.

The Doctor and Rose smiled at her.  “I’m so happy for you,” Rose said, ignoring the tears that sprang to her eyes.

The Doctor cleared his throat.  “You’re dead, officially, back home.  So many people died that day, and you’d both gone missing.  You’re on the list of the dead.”

“Rose too?”

“Easier that way, Mum,” the girl assured her softly.  “I’ve got nothing I want to go back to there…not anymore.”

“Am I ever gonna see you again?”  She started crying as Rose bit her lip and shook her head sadly.

“You can’t,” the Doctor said softly.

“I love you, sweetheart,” Jackie said, watching the tears fall from her daughter’s eyes and aching to hold her.  “Don’t you ever forget that.  And forget what I said before.  This is your life, the one that makes you happy.”  Rose nodded.  “As for you,” Jackie went on, watching the Doctor.  “Don’t you forget that she chose you.  You keep her safe, and you keep her happy, or I promise you, I’ll find a way back just to slap you.”

The Doctor looked genuinely terrified for a moment, then nudged Rose.

“I love you, Mum.  I’m so sorry,” Rose said, but Jackie gave a little shake of her head.  “Give Pete and Mickey hugs, tell that baby of yours that I love him, and…and be happy, Mum.”

With that, both of them disappeared.  Jackie sank to her knees, sobbing.  Pete ran to her, holding her close as she wept.

oOoOo

As soon as her mother disappeared, Rose turned and leaned into the Doctor’s chest as he put his arms around her and the tears started falling more freely.

“All these universes…not one gets it just right,” the Doctor said softly against her hair.  “I’m sorry, love.  I’m so sorry.”

It was another minute or two before she could respond.

“It’s not your fault,” she said when she was finally able to look up at him.  “This is better for her.  Better than waiting around for me, getting older while I stay the same, in and out of her life.  She has Pete, and the baby.  I have you.  It’s okay.  It’s gonna be…fantastic.”

He searched her eyes for a moment before his lips twitched and he leaned down and kissed her softly.  She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, both simply needing to hold the other close for a moment.

“Thank you, Doctor,” she said quietly after a moment.

He pulled away fractionally, touching her cheek as he opened his mouth to say something, but something seemed to catch his eye over her shoulder. 

"What?" he asked, sounding stunned.

Rose turned just as the redheaded woman near the doors did.  Her eyes widened as the woman yelped in surprise.

"What?" the Doctor asked again behind her.

"Who are you?" the woman asked disdainfully.

"But—“ Rose started, looking around.  Where the hell had she come from?

"Where am I?"

"Doctor—“

"What the hell is this place?" the woman shouted, interrupting her again.

"WHAT?" shouted the Doctor.

oOoOo

She danced in her orbit around the dying star.  The beginnings of a new adventure, one that would no doubt be fraught with peril and danger.  But the Thief wouldn’t have to do it alone this time, not ever again.  Her Wolf and Her Thief, the stuff of legend, could skip through the stars together forever, creating new hope and beauty through time and space.

The Doctor and Rose Tyler, in the TARDIS…just as it should be.


End file.
